



















































COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 






























MALDEN HEALTH SERIES 

CLEANLINESS 
AND HEALTH 

' , BY 

C. E. TURNER 

#4 

PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY AND PUBLIC HEALTH, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF 

technology; formerly associate professor of hygiene, tufts college 

MEDICAL AND DENTAL SCHOOLS; DIRECTOR OF HEALTH EDUCATION 
STUDIES AT MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS; CHAIRMAN, HEALTH 
SECTION, WORLD FEDERATION OF EDUCATION ASSOCIA¬ 
TIONS; EDITOR OF HEALTH SUBJECTS, EASTMAN 
TEACHING FILMS 

AND 

GEORGIE B. COLLINS 

FORMERLY DIRECTOR OF HEALTH EDUCATION, MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS; 
ASSISTANT EDITOR OF HEALTH SUBJECTS, 

EASTMAN TEACHING FILMS 



REVISED EDITION 


D. C. HEATH AND COMPANY 


-M-T • • 

BOSTON 

NEW YORK 

CHICAGO 

ATLANTA 

SAN FRANCISCO 

DALLAS 


LONDON 



1932 










Copyright, 1932 
By C. E. Turner 


No part of the material covered by this 
copyright may be reproduced in any form 
without written permission of the publisher. 

3 e 2 


Printed in the United States of America 



PREFACE 


This book, like the others of the Malden Health 
Series, is a product of extended experimental studies in 
Health Education carried on in the elementary and 
junior high school grades by the Department of Biology 
and Public Health at the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology and the School Department of the City of 
Malden. The material was tried and revised during 
successive years, until we felt sure of the psychology 
of approach as well as the inherent interest and clear¬ 
ness of the subject matter. It has now been further 
revised in the light of present-day knowledge and upon 
the basis of the extensive experience of the teachers 
who have used the book. 

The Italian Institute of Hygiene has the following 
definition as it motto: “Hygiene tends to make growth 
more perfect, decline less rapid, death more distant, 
and life stronger and happier.” Health education helps 
the child toward these objectives through the formation 
of proper attitudes and habits, and by supplying the 
scientific facts upon which intelligent health practices 
are based. These facts are drawn from many sciences 
—chiefly, of course, from physiology and sanitary sci¬ 
ence. 

The books in the Malden Health Series attempt to 
iii 


IV 


PREFACE 


present the physiological basis of healthful living in 
a way that is clear and interesting. They teach physi¬ 
ology and hygiene, not for the sake of the sciences 
themselves, but in order to promote the health of the 
child. Details of anatomy and function, which are 
interesting as scientific facts but which have no bear¬ 
ing upon present experiences, are soon forgotten and 
draw the interest of the child away from the subject 
of his own health. It is believed that such details 
may well be reserved for later courses. Experience 
indicates that this course of study contains all the physi¬ 
ology desirable for this age level. 

In this book the approach to the subject of bacterial 
cleanliness and its relation to health is the biological 
one. This approach is interesting and it gives an ap¬ 
preciation of the importance of the subject without 
exciting undue anxiety. If a child had never been 
outside a city tenement district, his first introduction 
to the plants of the open country' should be to the 
flowers, trees, and grasses—not to poison ivy and 
snake plums. It is only proper that a similar philosophy 
should be followed in introducing the child to the 
plants of the microscopic world. Experience has 
indicated that this approach will allow the subject of 
bacteria in relation to health to be taught in as much 
detail as may be desired or as may be necessary with¬ 
out developing worry or depression. 

The broad perspective, sound judgment, and con¬ 
tinued support of Superintendent F. G. Marshall were 


PREFACE 


V 


important factors in making possible the development 
of this program of study. To Mr. Marshall and to the 
School Board in Malden, we owe the opportunity for 
experimentation in methods throughout the Health 
Education studies. To them and to the principals and 
teachers in the schools where we have worked, we desire 
to express our most sincere thanks and appreciation for 
loyal cooperation. 

We also wish to express appreciation for assistance 
and suggestions in the preparation of the manuscript 
to Miss Bernice Andrews of the Cutler School, Somer¬ 
ville, Mass., Miss May Barry of the Lewis School, 
Boston, Mass., and Miss Sally Lucas Jean, of New 
York City, Consultant in Health Education and for 
some time Director of the Health Education Division 
of the American Child Health Association. 

C. E. T. 

G. B. C. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Training for Health. 1 

II. Growth. 8 

III. Some Health Rules and the Reasons for 

Keeping Them.15 

Food.16 

Posture.20 

Care of the Feet.25 

Sleep and Rest.27 

A Good Mind and Nervous System . 29 

Exercise. 33 

Fresh Air and Sunlight ... 36 

Eyes.38 

Ears.40 

Safety.43 

IV. What Is Cleanliness? .... 47 

V. Mold.55 

VI. Bacteria—the Smallest Plants in the 

World.63 

VII. Pasteur and a New Science ... 72 

VIII. Teeth.79 

IX. What the Body Is Made Of ... 89 

X. Workshops of the Body .... 103 

XI. Keeping the Workshops Clean . . *113 

XII. Cleanliness of the Outer Skin . . 120 


VI 







CONTENTS Vll 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XIII. Breathing Structures and Common Cold 134 

XIV. Conquering Tuberculosis .... 146 

XV. The Science of Prevention . . .154 

XVI. Harmful Substances.169 

XVII. Animal Friends and Enemies . . . 182 

XVIII. The Care of Food.192 

XIX. Cleanliness in the Home .... 204 
Appendix.218 














CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


I 

TRAINING FOR HEALTH 

When the United States and Spain went to war in 
1898, the Cubans were already fighting Spain to secure 
their independence. General Garcia, the leader of the 
Cubans, was hidden somewhere among the hills toward 
the center of the island. It was necessary for the 
President of the United States to reach him with a 
message at once. How could it be done ? 

A man named Rowan was called. He sealed up the 
message in an oilskin pouch and placed it over his 
heart. Five nights later he landed from an open boat 
on the shore of Cuba and disappeared into the jungle. 
On foot and alone he made his way to the interior. 
There he found General Garcia and delivered his mes¬ 
sage.* 

How much it means to a country in time of need to 
find a man who can really “carry the message to 
Garcia”! How proud a man must be to serve his 
country in a matter of such importance! How glad 

* Read for yourself some day the stirring account of this act as told 
by Elbert Hubbard in “A Message to Garcia.” 


2 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



he must be to possess in himself the qualities that fit 
him for such service! The desire to serve his country 
is not enough. He must have the courage to face dan¬ 
ger. In addition he must have health, strength, physi¬ 
cal fitness, a clear brain, a strong body. He must be 
able to secure his food and keep it from spoiling. He 
must protect himself against disease. In short, he must 
be fit and know how to keep fit. 







TRAINING FOR HEALTH 


3 

Importance of health. —Perhaps none of you will 
ever be called upon to travel through tropical jungles 
or perform remarkable deeds in your country’s service, 
but you all wish to do something useful in the world. 
Not only occasionally in the sorry experiences of war, 
but more often in the happier times of peace one serves 
his country and his fellow men. 

What do you plan to do when you are grown up? 
Whatever your work may be, it will demand a strong 
body, personal attractiveness, and a cheerful disposition. 
Whether you are to be a doctor, lawyer, or business man, 
you need to make your body strong and learn how to 
keep it fit. 

It is easy to understand that a man who wants to 
do active physical work must have health. Did you 
ever stop to think that the artist, the musician, the 
teacher, and the business man need health quite as 
much? Edward Simmons, one of America’s greatest 
painters, writes in his autobiography: v 

“It is important, perhaps even more for an artist 
than for any other class of person, to keep himself in 
trim. ... It is necessary that he take himself in hand 
early in life and learn about his own body. ... In my 
own case, I was practically an invalid up to the age 
of thirty, when I made up my mind to overcome my 
ailments. Artistic effort needs a tremendous amount 
of vitality back of it to carry it out. . . . Learn your 
limitations and you can correct them beforehand.” 

Will you not “take yourself in hand” this year? If 


4 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


you have “ailments,” make up your mind to overcome 
them. If you have vigorous, abounding health, hold 
fast to it. 

Notice how Mr. Simmons speaks of the importance 
of taking one’s self in hand “early in life.” How glad 
you must be that you have all of life ahead of you, and 
that you have the wonderful opportunity of beginning 
now to build the sort of body you will need in the years 
to come! 

Fitness for life.—Physical fitness is a magic token 
which helps to open for you the doors to happiness, 
success, and joyful service. It adds to all the pleasures 
of life, and enables you to enter into your work and 
play with confidence and vigor. 

Many health habits are packed full of fun. Who 
does not enjoy the warm glow of the skin after a cold 
bath, the joy and exhilaration of an outdoor game, the 
delight of relaxation after exercise, the pleasure of a 
cheerful meal? Indeed, this sense of physical well¬ 
being adds much to the joy of life. 

Sometimes we speak of health as being a gift, but 
it is not wholly that. It is what Nature gives you plus 
what you give yourself. If you are lucky enough to 
have been well and strong all your life, you must hold 
fast to the precious gift that is yours. You can keep 
it only by earning the right to possess it. If you have 
been so unfortunate as to have had a poor start in 
health, you must make up for it by habits of living 
which will earn for you what Nature failed to give you 


TRAINING FOR HEALTH 


5 



in the first place. Indeed, health is to a certain extent 
within the reach of all. The kind of body you will 
have five years from now depends very much upon your 
care of it during that time. 

Of course, we do not look upon health for the body 
as the chief end and aim of life. It is a means to a 
greater end, which is life itself. We value health be¬ 
cause it enriches life. 











6 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


Many people have given to the world lives that were 
full of cheerfulness, joy, and usefulness in spite of 
physical frailty which could not be overcome. Robert 
Louis Stevenson, although never well from childhood, 
lived an interesting life, out of which he wrote stories 
and poems which have given pleasure to children and 
grown folk. 

Do not be discouraged if you are not very well, for 
you may become one of the world’s most useful people 
in spite of physical weakness. Keep up your attempt* 
to gain health, however, for many people who were 
thought hopelessly frail in childhood have won their 
way to vigorous manhood and womanhood. Invest in 
habits of healthful living and cheerful thinking. You 
will surely be repaid with high rates of interest! 

Training.—You know that men and women reach 
their highest degree of physical fitness through “train¬ 
ing,” which simply means regular habits of healthful 
living. If the athlete needs to go “in training” for his 
game, and the soldier must undergo constant “drilling” 
for his service, how much more important it is for the 
growing boy or girl to go into training for the building 
of a beautiful, healthy body! Your “body is the temple 
of your soul.” Strive to build it well. 


TRAINING FOR HEALTH 


7 


Things You May Like to Do 

1. Discuss the habits which are most important for growing 
boys and girls. Begin with those habits familiarly known 
as the “Rules of the Game” : * 

J. A full bath oftener than once a week. 

2. Brushing the teeth at least twice every day. 

j. Sleeping long hours with windows open. 

4. Drinking as much milk as possible, but no tea or 
coffee. 

5. Eating some vegetables every day. 

6. Drinking at least four glasses of water a day. 

7 . Playing part of every , day outdoors. 

8. A bowel movement every morning. 

2. As you study different topics in this book, arrange your 
list of health-habit rules into groups about common sub¬ 
jects ; as, for example, rules about sleep, or rules about 
exercise, etc. 

* Prepared by the American Child Health Association. 


II 


GROWTH 

One way in which you can measure your health is 
by watching your growth, and the easiest way to do 
that is to have yourself weighed and measured regu¬ 
larly. Perhaps the boys and girls in your school are 
already being weighed and measured at regular times. 
If you have no scale at school now, you may find a way 
to get one, or you may arrange to weigh yourself at a 
store. Watching your growth is such good fun that 
you will not want to miss it.* 

Growth. —Do you know how much you have grown 
during the summer vacation ? Compare the gains 
which have been made in your class. If you have last 
year's weight records, compute your gains for the whole 
year. Notice whether you have grown as much as the 
average boy or girl of your age. If you do not know 
how much the expected gain is, find it in the tables on 
page 222. 

You will find, of course, that some boys and girls 
have grown much more than others. There are many 
reasons for such differences. It is natural for some 
to be small and for others to grow fast. To a certain 
extent, children inherit size and figure from their par- 

* You will find full directions for weighing and measuring in the 
appendix of this book. 


8 


GROWTH 


9 



Measuring for height 

ents, and yet many children become larger than either 
parent. 

If you live where there are cold winters, you may 
find that there is a seasonal difference in growth. You 
are likely to grow faster in the fall and early winter 
than you do in the spring and early summer. At any 
time and under any conditions, however, your habits 
of living have a definite effect upon your rate of growth. 

















IO 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



These puppies are brothers—same age—same litter. At 
weaning time they were the same size. After weaning time 
both were fed all the cooked cereal and bread they would eat, 
with some meat added. The big dog was fed milk every day 
in addition to his other food, while the little dog received no 
milk. 

Indeed, one very important reason why some children 
grow faster than others is that they have better health 
habits. 

If you live in the country or if you have raised pets, 
you know that food affects the growth of young animals. 
They can be made fat or thin by changing their diet. 
So for the human animal, wholesome foods promote 
growth, but harmful substances, like alcohol and to¬ 
bacco, hinder it. 




GROWTH 


II 



Very thin children usually have a shortage of fat and 
muscle. What can you do to build better muscles? 
How can you increase that little store of fat which will 
make you look and feel better? Most of you can in¬ 
crease your rate of growth by following the rules of 
health faithfully. You need especially to eat plenty of 
wholesome foods, spend long hours in sleep and rest, 
and take suitable exercise. 





















































12 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


Unusually heavy children need to grow, of course, 
just as other children do, but they want to avoid putting 
on extra fat. They should not try to reduce except 
under the direction of a doctor or hospital clinic. 

Strength. —Another way to watch the development 
of your body is by testing its strength. You may have 
had such tests already in your physical training classes. 
If you have no special teacher for games and exercise, 
you may wish to secure the directions for using the 
National Physical Achievement Standards.* These 
are simple tests in running, jumping, throwing, balanc¬ 
ing, and special stunts. You can make one record now, 
and then repeat the tests later to see how much your 
strength and ability have increased. 

It is interesting to keep a record of your lung expan¬ 
sion and to see how it increases with your growth. 
Use a tape measure or a firm string which can be meas¬ 
ured on a yardstick. Take your chest measure, first 
with all the breath expelled, and then with a full breath 
taken in. The difference between the two measure¬ 
ments tells you the amount of your lung expansion. Do 
you know what will help you to develop a good chest ? 

Freedom from physical defects. —This is another 
measure of health. A careful inspection of your body 
shows whether you have any defects. Such an inspec¬ 
tion or health examination should be made by a physi¬ 
cian. Your teacher or nurse may assist the doctor 

* These can be obtained from the National Recreation Association, 
315 Fourth Ave., New York City. 


GROWTH 


13 

with part of the inspection. If you do not have any 
examination at school, you can go to your own family 
physician. It is worth while to find out whether you 
are “in good repair” and ready for a running start in 
the game of health. 

Finding out that you have defective eyesight or de¬ 
cayed teeth is of little value unless you actually set about 
having your defects corrected. Have you not seen 
examples of the way health is improved by the correction 
of physical defects ? Some of you have probably had 
tonsils and adenoids removed. Did you grow faster 
or feel better afterward? See if the boys and girls in 
your class can have all their defects corrected before the 
middle of the year. 

Think for a moment what things stand in the way of 
your own growth and physical fitness. Is there some 
physical defect which can be corrected? Have you 
allowed yourself to develop careless habits of living? 
Try to remove all hindrances, whether they are defects 
of body or faults of daily living. 

Your growth, your ability in physical tests, and your 
freedom from physical defects are ways in which to 
measure your health. How do you measure up ? 

Questions for Discussion 

1. Why do children of the same age differ in size? 

2. What can a child do to improve his rate of growth ? 

3. What things may hinder a child’s growth? 

4. In what ways can you measure the growth and develop¬ 
ment of your body ? 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


14 

5. How can thin boys and girls help themselves to develop 
more muscle and “fatten up” a bit? 

6. What physical defects occur commonly among children, 
and who should be consulted in having them corrected ? 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Make individual weight graphs on which you can keep 
records of your growth this year. You will find direc¬ 
tions in the appendix of this book. 

2. Start an honor roll for “Teeth.” List on your honor roll 
the names of all pupils who have had all needed dental 
work completed. 

3. On each weighing day, find out how many members of 
the class have gained in weight. What percentage is this 
of the whole class? You may be able to compete with 
another class to see which has the larger percentage of 
pupils gaining each month. 

4. Write on the blackboard the number of pupils who are 
known to have defective vision. Change this number 
whenever a pupil gets his defect corrected. Try to secure 
one hundred per cent corrections. 


Ill 


SOME HEALTH RULES AND THE 
REASONS FOR KEEPING THEM 

One of the best plans for carrying on your health 
work this year is to divide the program into two parts: 
first, building up your personal health; second, gaining 
new knowledge in matters of health. Under such a plan 
you would give some class time every week to the con¬ 
sideration of each part of your program. 

Very likely you will want to organize your class for 
health training. You will find suggestions for this in 
the appendix at the end of this book. 

In this chapter you will find a brief statement of the 
reasons for keeping important rules of health. The 
topics may be taken up in any order. They may be 
used as lessons or as a basis for discussion in a Health 
Club. The subjects here include Food, Posture, Care 
of the Feet, Sleep and Rest, Mind and Nervous System, 
Exercise, Fresh Air and Sunlight, Eyes, Ears, and 
Safety A Digestion is considered in the chapter on 
“Workshops of the Body.” There is a special chapter 
on “The Teeth,” and there are many chapters dealing 
with Cleanliness. 

* The material in this chapter is planned to be used for reference at 
such times as you choose to study the various topics. 

i5 


l6 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Foods containing protein 

FOOD 


Your diet, as you know, is closely related to your 
health and growth. The various foods supply energy 
for work and play, as well as building materials for all 
parts of the body. Boys and girls will make some 
growth even upon poorly selected foods, but good physi¬ 
cal development is dependent upon a diet that supplies 
all the needed food elements. 

The three important groups of food substances are: 
(i) proteins; (2) carbohydrates; (3) fats. 

Proteins. —Proteins are plentiful in such foods as 
milk, eggs, meat, fish, cheese, peas, and beans. They 
are used in building and repairing the body; they have 
some value as fuel. 

Carbohydrates. —Carbohydrates are the starches 
and sugars. Starch is in such foods as potato, bread, 
macaroni, and cereal. The various kinds of sugar are 











HEALTH RULES 



Foods containing carbohydrates and fats 

found in fruits, milk, and sweet foods. Carbohydrates 
are used for fuel to make the body go and keep it warm. 
They may be changed to fat in the body and stored there 
as reserve fuel. 

Fats. —Fats are in such foods as cream, butter, olive 
oil, and fat meat. Their use is for fuel, and they, too, 
may be stored as fat in the body. 

Vitamins. —Certain foods contain “magic sub¬ 
stances” called vitamins . No one knows exactly what 
they are, but we know where they are found and that 
they are essential for health and growth. The foods 
in which vitamins are most abundant are fresh fruits 
and vegetables (especially the leafy vegetables), eggs, 
milk, and milk products (cream, butter, cheese), glandu¬ 
lar cuts of meat (liver, kidneys, sweetbreads), and 
whole grains. ( One reason why cod liver oil is so good 
for children is that it is very rich in certain vitamins.) 










Xg CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

Grown-ups should eat plenty of these foods for the sake 
of good health, and for protection from certain diseases 
which are caused by lack of vitamins in the diet. Chil¬ 
dren need vitamins for these same reasons, and also for 
the sake of growth. 

Minerals— In addition the body needs iron, calcium, 
phosphorus, and other mineral substances which must 
be secured from food. Milk is the chief source of cal¬ 
cium. From two to four glasses a day are recom¬ 
mended for building strong teeth and bones. Iron is 
found in molasses, in egg yolk, in whole cereals, and in 
most fruits and vegetables. It is abundant in spinach, 
carrots, lettuce, celery, prunes, and dates. Enough 
iron in the diet makes good red blood. Phosphorus 
abounds in eggs, milk, whole grains, fruits, and vege¬ 
tables. 

Regulator foods. —Coarse foods and water are 
needed to keep the digestive tract clean. Whole-grain 
cereals, fruits, vegetables, and dark breads should be 
a part of the daily diet. Four glasses of water or more 
between meals daily are needed for internal cleanliness. 
It is well to start the day by drinking a glass of water 
before breakfast. (Water is also used in growth; 
about two-thirds of your whole weight is water.) 

Selection of food. —One may eat enough food, so far 
as quantity is concerned, and yet fail to nourish the body 
properly. You need certain kinds of food every day; 


HEALTH RULES 


19 

1. Proteins for building and repair—among the best are milk 
and eggs. Cheese, meat, and fish are also good protein 
foods. 

2. Carbohydrates for fuel—among the best are cereals, bread, 
macaroni, spaghetti, and potatoes. 

3. Fats for fuel—among the best are cream, butter, and 
olive oil. 

4. Vitamin-containing foods—milk, cream, butter, eggs, 
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and glandular cuts of 
meat. 

5. Mineral-containing foods—milk, eggs, fruits, whole grains, 
and vegetables. 

6. Coarse foods—fruits, vegetables, dark breads, whole-grain 
cereals. 

7. Water. 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Keep health-habit records showing how much milk you 
drink every day, what vegetables you eat, etc. 

2. Prepare menus, planning meals made up of wholesome 
foods which can be bought in the market now. 

3. See if every one in your class can learn to eat all the dif¬ 
ferent kinds of vegetables. 

4. Discuss various ways of cooking eggs. Why are soft- 
cooked eggs or “dropped” eggs better than fried eggs ? 

5. Discuss various ways of cooking and serving vegetables. 

6 . Discuss different kinds of dark, coarse breads. 

7. Discuss ways in which fruit can be used in the diet. 

8. Discuss ways in which milk and cream can be used. 


20 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


POSTURE 

Sitting.— The points of good sitting posture are as 
follows: hips well back in chair, feet resting on the 
floor, chin in, chest high, abdomen flat, back straight 
(without exaggerated curve either at waistline or 
shoulders), hands either in the lap or on the desk. The 
chair and desk should be of the right height so that 
the feet touch the floor, the knees are not cramped, and 
the arms rest on the desk without pulling the shoulders 
out of position. 

Standing. —The points of good standing posture 
are as follows: feet a short distance apart with toes 
pointing straight ahead, chin in, chest high, abdomen 
flat, back straight, weight on the balls of the feet, hands 
relaxed at the sides. 

There are several common faults of posture: round 
shoulders, back hollowed at the waistline, protruding 
abdomen, forward head, hollow chest. Here are a few 
simple exercises for correcting these faults. 

For round shoulders: Stand in your best posture. 
Let the arms fall loosely in front of the body, with the 
shoulders dropped forward. Now, without throwing 
the rest of the body out of position, lift the shoulders 
forward and upward, then backward, and let them drop 
in place, with chest high. Repeat several times in front 
of the mirror and see how this exercise gets your shoul¬ 
ders into position. 


HEALTH RULES 


21 


J.G. 



Why is one position better than the other ? 


For back curved at the waistline, or protruding 
abdomen: Stand against a flat surface of wall, with 
heels about three inches from the wall and with the 
body touching the wall from hips to head. Slip your 
hand between your body and the wall in the curve at 
the waistline, and see how hard you can push against 
your hand by pulling with the muscles of your back 
and abdomen. (Do not hold your breath.) Take 
your hand out and see if you can pull back so hard that 
there is not room to slip your hand in at all. When 
you walk away from the wall, try to hold the same 
straight position. 

For head carried forward: Stand against the wall 
as in the previous exercise. Pull your chin in as hard 
as you can, at the same time trying to flatten the back 
of your neck against the wall. Repeat several times, 










22 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


J.G. 

Which is the better position for study? 

and try to hold your head straight and tall as you walk 
away. (Sometimes a person carries his head forward 
or sideways because his eyesight is defective and he is 
unconsciously trying to get into a position where he can 
see better. In such a case, glasses to correct the vision 
will help to correct the posture.) 

For hollow chest: Shoulder exercises, arm stretching, 
deep breathing, or standing flat against the wall will 
help to improve the chest. Another corrective measure 
is to rest in the “hyper-extension’ : ’ position as follows: 
Lie on a flat surface with the hands behind the neck and 
elbows touching the flat surface. Have a small pillow 
placed under your back just below the shoulders, so that 
your chest is raised. Your shoulders drop back, and 
your abdomen becomes flat. Be sure that the pillow is 
placed just below the shoulder blades, not at the waist 




HEALTH RULES 23 

line. Bend the knees so that there is no strain on the 
abdomen. This position is usually held for ten or fif¬ 
teen minutes every day. 

This chart shows how Harvard freshmen are grouped accord¬ 
ing to posture. 



Group A 7*5 / ( Group B 12*5 , Group C 55 /, Group D 25 J 

Daily Habits Related to Posture 

1. Sleep at least ten hours every night so that you will feel 
able to stand and sit well. 

2. Play outdoors every day so that you will have muscles 
strong enough to support your body. 


















CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


24 

3. Avoid sitting for any length of time in a chair which is too 
high for you. 

4. Take good sitting posture at the beginning of each class 
period. Avoid twisting the body while writing. 

5. Stand well when you recite. 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Conduct a campaign to improve daily habits of posture. 
Let each row act as a team. Let the pupil in the rear seat 
act as captain. If a pupil stands in poor posture to re¬ 
cite, let the captain call, “Attention!” The teacher will 
call the captains to attention if necessary. See if you can 
maintain such good standing posture that calls of “Atten¬ 
tion !” are seldom necessary. 

2. Find out how good or bad your own posture is. Examine 
yourself in front of a long mirror at home, and see if you 
can determine what points you should work to improve. 
Have inspection of posture at school, and with the help 
of your teacher, nurse, or physical director discover what 
faults need to be corrected. Repeat these inspections oc¬ 
casionally to see what improvement has been made. 

3. Use corrective exercises to overcome definite faults of 
posture. If you have a physical director or any person 
specially trained in the use of exercise, she can advise you 
individually in regard to correction. You cannot expect 
to see results from any exercise, however, unless you do it 
faithfully every day over a period of several months. 

4. Study the motion picture “Posture” (Eastman Teaching 
Films) if it is available. It will show you the proper posi¬ 
tion and relationship of the different parts of the body and 
the attractiveness of good posture. 


HEALTH RULES 


25 


CARE OF THE FEET 

The foot is made very much like the hand. There 
are many small bones over which run strong cords. 
These bones are held in place by small muscles and liga¬ 
ments. A long arch, called the longitudinal arch, ex¬ 
tends lengthwise of the foot. When this becomes so 
weak that it drops, it brings about a condition known 
as flat-foot. A smaller arch, called the transverse arch, 
extends across the foot just behind the toes. The drop¬ 
ping of this arch may cause calluses on the sole of the 
foot and pain in the muscles. Arch trouble of any kind 
requires treatment by a doctor. It can usually be 
avoided entirely if you use your feet properly and dress 
them in the right kind of shoes. 

These are the requirements for a good shoe. It 
should be large enough to permit freedom of the foot. 
The line from heel to toe on the inside of the foot should 
be straight. The heel should be low and broad, and 
placed so that its edge is in line with the back of the shoe 
(not set in under like the French heel). The arch may 
be either flexible or stiff. 

It is not necessary to look “dowdy” because one wears 
sensible shoes. At present, it is possible to buy a great 
variety of shoes which have correct lines and are at the 
same time smart and dressy. Girls sometimes feel 
that for certain occasions they must have shoes with 
small heels and narrow toes. If you ever buy a shoe 
of this sort, be sensible enough to choose one which is 
not too “extreme,” and use it only for special occasions. 


26 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 






Footprints 
of normal feet 


Rules for Care of the Feet 

1. Walk without scuffing, and with your toes 
pointing straight ahead. 

2. Give your feet exercise through walking, 
running, and vigorous play. 

3. Wear proper shoes for working, standing, 
and walking. 

4. Keep your shoes clean, polished, and in 
good repair, paying attention especially to 
run-down heels. 

5. Wear stockings which are long enough and 
shaped to fit the foot. 

6. Take off rubbers, or rubber boots, when 
indoors. 

7. Keep your feet clean, and wear clean stock¬ 
ings. Always dry the feet thoroughly after 
washing. 

8. Keep the nails short and clean. Cut them 
straight across to prevent ingrowing toe¬ 
nails. 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Watch yourself to see whether you walk 
with your feet straight ahead. If you 
cannot do so, you may need to go to your 
doctor for special treatment. 

2. Examine your own feet to see whether 
they are healthy and well shaped. Do 
your toes rest on the floor when you are 
standing, or do they lift up? (Lifting 
up of the toes is usually a sign of a weak 
transverse arch.) Is the line on the in¬ 
side of your foot straight from heel to toe, 
without an enlarged big-toe joint? Are 



HEALTH RULES 


27 

your toes free from corns? Are your feet free from cal¬ 
loused places? When you stamp a print of your wet 
foot on the floor, is the wet mark for the middle of the 
foot limited to a line at the outer edge. (It should be, 
if your longitudinal arch is strong.) Can you lift your¬ 
self well up on your toes and keep your balance ? 

3. Examine your shoes to see whether they have all the re¬ 
quirements of a good shoe. 

4. Ask some local dealer to lend you shoe models so that you 
can have an exhibit of good shoes. Discuss why they are 
good. 

5. When you wear rubbers or rubber boots remove them in 
the classroom. Watch your little brothers and sisters at 
home to see that they remove their rubbers in the house. 

6. Study the moving picture 'The Feet” (Eastman Teaching 
Films) if it is available. 

SLEEP AND REST 

The whole body benefits from sleep. The mind and 
nervous system rest. The muscles relax, and the heart 
does less work. The body repairs itself and grows. 
The effect of long hours of sleep shows itself not only in 
growth but also in posture, personal appearance, dispo¬ 
sition, and ability to think and work. 

Most grown-ups need at least eight hours of sleep. 
Some need more. Boys and girls of your age need at 
least ten. Younger children need eleven or twelve. 

A short rest at noon or after school is an excellent 
thing for children who get tired easily and do not grow 
as fast as they should. Indeed, many grown-ups make 
a practice of the mid-day nap. The ability to relax and 


28 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Have fresh air while you sleep. 

allow one’s muscles to become limp is a desirable habit 
to possess, for it enables one to secure a great deal of 
rest in a short time. 

Rules for Sleep and Rest 

i . Have a regular bedtime; do not be late. 

2. Make it your usual practice to spend quiet evenings so that 
you will go to sleep promptly and rest well. 















HEALTH RULES 


29 


3. Eat a light supper; avoid eating during the evening. 

4. Train yourself to relax and go to sleep promptly. 

5. Open your windows as wide as you can. 

6. Have a clean bed, with light, warm covering and a low 
pillow, if any. Change sheets and pillow slips each week. 

7. Have at least ten hours of sleep every night. 

8. Take a rest period regularly every day if you need to. 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Check up your habits of sleep by means of health-habit 
records and health-habit questionnaires. (See the appen¬ 
dix of this book.) 

2. Make it fashionable in your class to go to bed early. 

3. If you have been averaging less than ten hours of sleep, in¬ 
crease your amount of sleep for the next month and see 
whether it helps you gain in weight, feel happier, or do 
better work in school. 

4. If you are having a good amount of sleep, but still get 
tired easily and do not gain well, try a rest period every 
day and see whether it brings results. 


A GOOD MIND AND NERVOUS SYSTEM 

The mind is to the body what the captain is to the 
ship. Without a healthy and well-trained mind the 
most splendid body cannot bring happiness and success. 

You know that it is possible to build a healthy body 
and to train it. The muscles can be trained to be quick 
and strong. The ear becomes able to distinguish deli¬ 
cate shades of tone in music. The eye learns to see 
beauty in harmony of line and color. Do you realize 
that the mind can be trained, too? You are develop- 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


30 

ing certain habits of mind as the days go by. Are 
they habits of cheerfulness or sadness, kindness or 
selfishness, calmness or worry, happiness or unhappi¬ 
ness ? 

Effect of the body upon the mind. —Sometimes 
you find it easy to study; at other times it seems im¬ 
possible. Sometimes it is perfectly natural to be gay 
and cheerful, and at other times you feel quite unhappy. 
Often a condition of the body causes the difference in 
your state of mind. When your bowel habits are not 
regular, or your digestion is out of order, injurious 
substances get into the blood and make you feel tired 
and depressed. Bodily defects, such as diseased ton¬ 
sils or adenoids, interfere with the work of the mind. 
Eyestrain, toothache, or any persistent pain affects one’s 
thinking and disposition. 

Discuss from your own experience other ways in 
which habits of living or conditions of the body affect 
the work of the mind. Improper food, lack of sleep 
and rest, need of exercise in the fresh air—these and 
other factors of daily living have a direct relation to 
mental health. 

Certain substances like tea and coffee have an effect 
upon the mind and nervous system. Boys and girls are 
naturally very active and they do not need to be “ex¬ 
cited” by such substances. The constant use of tea 
and coffee affects them like the use of a whip on a sensi¬ 
tive horse. It makes them nervous and unsteady. 
Alcohol and tobacco are much more injurious. 


HEALTH RULES 


31 

Effect of habits of mind upon the mind itself.— 

Often a person develops a habit of “nervousness, 1 ” and 
makes that an excuse for being constantly cross and 
irritable. If you allow yourself to become habitually 
peevish, disagreeable, fault-finding, and selfish, you 
are not only making yourself extremely unhappy, but 
you are also making things harder for every one who has 
to work with you or live with you. The habits you 
want are those of cheerfulness and good nature. The 
more often you are grouchy and sulky, the easier such 
a state of mind becomes. The more you practice cheer¬ 
fulness, the easier that becomes. 

If you feel blue, grouchy, or worried about some¬ 
thing, try to force yourself to sing or whistle or smile 
or look pleasant. Before you realize what has hap¬ 
pened, you will really be more cheerful and content. 
Two strong feelings which oppose each other cannot 
live in the mind at the same time. 

The mind can be trained in habits of thinking and 
concentration too. If you keep your mind on what you 
are doing, your work will be done quickly. If you let 
your mind go “day-dreaming,” the work will never be 
done. 

Effect of habits of mind upon the body. —Not 

only do habits of mind affect the mind itself, but they 
also affect the health of the body. Anger and worry 
put a stop to the processes of digestion. Indeed, what 
is called “nervous indigestion” is usually caused by 
constant mental strain of one kind or another. Such a 


32 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

condition of the body makes worry still easier, and so the 
person becomes worse and worse. Worry causes in¬ 
digestion, and indigestion causes worry. 

A person’s mind and disposition are reflected in 
the expression of the face. Intelligence, self-control, 
honesty, and kindness can all be read in the counte¬ 
nance. Some faces attract you at once, and others re¬ 
pel you. What you like or dislike in a face is chiefly 
what you see of beauty or ugliness of mind, for 
thoughts and feelings picture themselves in facial ex¬ 
pression. 

Boys and girls inherit different traits of mind as 
they inherit different kinds of bodies. Indeed, your 
own particular gifts of mind are among the most im¬ 
portant factors in making you an interesting person. 
But regardless of what you inherit, the ability you will 
have in years to come depends largely upon how you 
train your mind. Find out what things you can do 
well and what things you like to do. There are many 
ways of being successful in life, and every one can find 
a place for himself. 

Rules for a Healthy Mind 

1. Build a healthy body, and play the health game. 

2. Avoid things which have an injurious effect upon the mind 
or nervous system—tea, coffee, tobacco, alcohol, drugs. 

3. Make it your business to be always cheerful and courteous. 

4. Guard especially against habits of temper, sulkiness, and 
irritability. 

5. Form the habit of concentration. 


HEALTH RULES 


33 


Things You May Like to Do 

1. Keep a record for yourself to check the days on which you 
are able to keep cheerful and pleasant all day, never once 
allowing yourself to get cross. 

2. Decide upon some particular act, either at home or in class, 
in which your behavior needs improvement. See if you 
can make such a marked improvement that some one will 
notice it. 


EXERCISE 

A great race horse does not acquire his speed by 
accident. He is trained to the race track from the time 
he is very young. The athlete grows to his ability 
slowly, by constant training and practice. In the train¬ 
ing of the body for everyday needs, exercise is the means 
by which muscles are developed to do their work easily 
and well. 

The body as a whole benefits from exercise. There 
is more rapid breathing and better circulation, so that 
a greater amount of oxygen is taken from the lungs 
to all parts of the body. Exercise helps the body to 
throw off waste more promptly. Food products which 
are used as fuel are burned more completely in the heat 
of vigorous exercise. The skin is cleansed by the pas¬ 
sage of sweat through the open pores, leaving the waste 
substances on the outside where they can be washed off. 

Exercise improves digestion. The digestive organs 
are “shaken up,” and the muscles of the abdomen which 
hold them in place are strengthened and invigorated. 
Daily exercise is one of the best aids to a good digestion, 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


34 

and it is a health habit which helps to prevent or over- 
come constipation. 

The mind benefits, too, from exercise. It has a rest 
from study and work. You have probably noticed how 
play refreshes you when you feel tired from school work. 

The lungs are enlarged by exercise, because they are 
filled more completely with air than in ordinary breath¬ 
ing. 

The heart, like other muscles, is strengthened through 
exercise and made stronger. A heart which is kept 
strong and healthy will be a health asset in years to 
come. A child whose heart needs special care should 
always follow the doctor’s directions. 

Exercise also helps the body to regulate its tempera¬ 
ture. The circulation is kept active and is able to ad¬ 
just itself more quickly to changed conditions. You 
know that people who do not exercise regularly are more 
sensitive to cold than those who do. A good circula¬ 
tion is not only useful in keeping you warm, but it also 
helps to keep you free from colds. 

You can easily see that the benefits of exercise are 
widespread. Indeed, when you realize the value of 
exercise, it is difficult to understand how any one can 
keep really well without it. Fortunately, it is one of 
the health habits which are very easy for boys and girls 
to practice. There is a thrill in playing, walking, run¬ 
ning, climbing, skating, or swimming which makes the 
thing a joy in itself. What cheerfulness and content¬ 
ment of mind follow the hours of vigorous exercise out- 


HEALTH RULES 


35 



doors! How keen is one’s appetite for the coming 
meal! How quiet and peaceful the long hours of sleep! 
Exercise outdoors is indeed a health habit which is 
“packed full of fun.” 



























36 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

Rules of Exercise 

1. Spend part of every day in play outdoors. 

2. Learn to take part in all kinds of sports so that you have 
opportunity for outdoor exercise at every season of the 
year. 

3. Be a good walker; walking is good exercise; it keeps you 
in the open and takes you to interesting places. 

4. If your posture is poor, do your corrective exercises regu¬ 
larly. Perhaps you all do morning exercises together at 
your house. 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Discuss different sports and games to see which ones offer 
exercise for nearly all parts of the body. 

2. Measure your ability in running, jumping, and other ex¬ 
ercises by using the National Physical Achievement Stand¬ 
ards. 

3. Discuss the relation of other habits to your ability in play 
and games. 

For example: How does food affect the development of 
muscles? Does clothing have any relation to outdoor 
play? How important are disposition and honesty in 
games ? 

4. Keep a record showing how much time you spend each 
day in outdoor play. 

FRESH AIR AND SUNLIGHT 

We naturally enjoy fresh air and sunlight. Out¬ 
door air usually has more movement and more variation 
in temperature than the air indoors. The feeling of 
moving air on the skin is pleasing and stimulating. We 
feel refreshed when we step from the quiet, warm air 


HEALTH RULES 


37 

of a room into the fresh, outdoor air. Outdoor play 
is healthful, not only because of exercise, but also be¬ 
cause of the stimulating effect of the moving air on the 
skin. 

Sunlight plays an important part, too, in the benefits 
that come from outdoor life. Sunshine is pleasant; it 
makes us feel cheerful. It also has a real effect upon 
the growth and development of the body. 

Direct sunlight on the skin produces a substance in 
the body which helps it to use calcium and phos¬ 
phorus to make good bones and teeth. The same effect 
is produced by a certain vitamin which is found abun¬ 
dantly in cod liver oil, and in smaller amounts in egg 
yolk, butter, cream, and whole milk. Babies who have 
enough sunshine and enough of this vitamin in the diet 
grow straight and strong. Lack of this vitamin and 
of sunshine will cause a disease called rickets, in which 
the bones do not develop properly. 

Sunlight is particularly important for babies, but it is 
also important for older boys and girls. Play outdoors 
in summer in a bathing suit or a sun suit, if you can, 
but take care to avoid sunburn. Sunburn injures the 
skin and, if severe, may make you ill. Expose the body 
to the sun for a short time at first so that you will de¬ 
velop a tan gradually. 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Discuss the reason why fanning makes one feel cooler. 

2. Find out how many hours of sunlight there are daily in 
March, in June, and in December. 


38 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



o 

The camera and the eye 

(i) Focusing device; (2) lens; (3) place where picture is 
formed; (4) chamber; (5) device for changing size of opening. 

EYES 


Through the eyes we learn, and by means of them we 
are able to work and play. 

The structure of the eye is like that of a camera. 
It has a lens which collects the rays of light and makes 
a picture at the back of the eyeball. The focusing is 
done by tiny muscles which change the shape of the 
lens when one is looking at objects near by. The eye is 
naturally “set” to look at distant objects. It is easy to 
see why it becomes tired when focused upon near work 
for long periods of time. 










HEALTH RULES 


39 

The iris, or colored part of the eye, is like the dia¬ 
phragm in the camera. It opens or closes to let in more 
or less light as needed. You can see for yourself that, 
when facing a bright light, the pupils of the eyes are 
small—the iris closes to keep out the excessive light 
which might be injurious. When looking into dim light 
or darkness, the pupils are large because the iris has 
dilated to let in all the light possible. Why does flicker¬ 
ing light tire the eyes ? 

Rules for the Care of the Eyes 

i . Do not read in dim or flickering light. 

2. In doing close work, have the light come from over the 
shoulder. Bright light shining directly into your face will 
injure your eyes. 

3. Hold work straight, in front of the eyes and about fifteen 
inches from them. 

4. Avoid reading while lying down or on moving cars. 

5. Rest the eyes occasionally by closing them or by looking at 
distant objects. Avoid excess of fine work. 

6. Avoid looking at the sun or other brilliant light. 

7. Avoid accidents which may injure your own eyes or the 
eyes of other children. 

8. Have foreign particles in the eyes removed carefully by 
an adult. 

9. If you have trouble with your eyes, get the advice of an eye 
specialist. Wear glasses if you need them. Keep the 
frames properly adjusted. If the eyes are imperfect, they 
cannot do good work. You are handicapped if you cannot 
see as well as other children, and sooner or later your health 
will suffer from the eyestrain. Tired-looking eyes also 
detract from personal beauty. 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


40 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Bring a camera to school and discuss how its various parts 
are like the parts of the eye. 

2. Try this experiment to see how the eye focuses for ob¬ 
jects near at hand. Stand near a window which has a 
screen and look out at the street. While you are looking 
into the street, you cannot see the screen distinctly. Now 
if you look directly at the screen, you will find that you 
cannot see distinctly what is in the street. Your eye can¬ 
not focus at the same time on the street, which is distant, 
and on the screen, which is near. 

3. Try this experiment to see how the iris opens and closes 
in relation to the amount of light. Stand opposite another 
person who is facing the bright light. Notice how small 
the pupils of his eyes are. Now have him turn about so 
that he is facing the darkest part of the room, and see 
how the pupils dilate. 

4. Discuss what to do when bits of dirt get into the eye. 


EARS 

The sense of hearing adds to our enjoyment of life 
and usually plays an important part in our ability to do 
some useful work. 

How we hear. —The ear is made up of three parts: 
the outer ear, the middle ear, and the inner ear. The 
curved part of the outer ear catches the sound waves as 
they come through the air, and allows them to pass 
through the ear canal to the ear drum, which vibrates 
with the sound waves just as the disk in the mouthpiece 
of a telephone vibrates when you talk into the telephone. 
Beyond the drum is the middle ear, which is a hollow 


HEALTH RULES 


41 



The various parts of the ear and adjoining structures are 
shown by numbers as follows: (1) outer ear; (2) middle ear; 
(3) inner ear; (4) nerve; (5) Eustachian tube. 

space, filled with air and connected with the upper part 
of the throat by a passage called the Eustachian tube. 
Stretching across the middle ear is a chain of three tiny 
bones, which make the connection from the ear drum to 
the inner ear. When the drum vibrates with sound 
waves from the outside, the vibrations are passed along 
this connecting chain of bones to the inner ear. This 
is a winding cavity in the bone of the skull, filled with a 
clear, watery fluid. The fluid takes up the vibrations 
and passes them on to delicate nerve endings, from which 
the sensation is carried to the brain. 

Taking care of the ears.—When you consider the 
structure of the ear, and the way in which sound waves 
are passed on from the ear drum to the inner ear, it is 
easy to understand the importance of avoiding injury to 
the drum. The ears should be washed and dried care¬ 
fully. Never put a sharp instrument into the ear to 
clean out the wax. Washing the canal with a soft 




42 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

cloth over the finger will usually keep the ear clean. If 
wax becomes hardened so that the hearing is affected, it 
is wise to go to a doctor to have the wax removed. 

Sometimes a boy or girl has an ear drum injured by 
the carelessness of another child in play. Never shout 
close to a person's ear, “box" his ears, or do any care¬ 
less thing which may injure another person’s hearing 
for life. 

Hearing may be interfered with by injury to the 
middle ear. The Eustachian tube in children is rela¬ 
tively short, wide, and straight, making it fairly easy 
for material from the nose or throat to get into the 
middle ear. Thus bad colds or diseased tonsils or ade¬ 
noids may lead to disease of the middle ear. Diseased 
tonsils or adenoids should receive treatment. When 
you have a cold, blow the nose gently so that fluid may 
not be forced through the Eustachian tube into the 
middle ear. 

Earache is a sign of trouble, and should receive 
prompt attention. Never neglect a discharging ear. 
Go to your doctor, and follow his advice faithfully. 

If, because of some accident or illness in childhood, 
you cannot hear as well as other boys and girls, you 
should always seek the seat at school where you can 
hear best, so that you will not hinder yourself need¬ 
lessly by failing to understand. In some communities, 
lip reading is taught to children who have poor hearing. 


HEALTH RULES 


43 


Things You May Like to Do 

1. Find out what is being done in your community to help 
persons who are “hard of hearing.” 

2. Discuss the way in which the audiometer is used for testing 
hearing. 


SAFETY 

No matter how well and strong you are, you may 
meet with any sort of accident unless you are careful 
and sensible in your habits of safety. Automobile 
highways and the busy streets of our modern towns and 
cities have greatly increased the dangers to which both 
children and adults are exposed. It is interesting to 
know that, while the number of accidents for adults has 
increased constantly in recent years, there has been a 
steady decrease in the number of accidents to children. 
Boys and girls are learning to protect themselves against 
accident by practicing safety. What safety habits do 
you practice to protect yourself and others against need¬ 
less injury? 

Rules for Safety 
A. In the street 

1. Cross the street only at corners or at traffic crossings. 

2. Keep to the right in traffic, and obey the traffic policeman 
or the light signal when one is present. 

3. Always look carefully when crossing the street. Never 
step into the street backward, or dash carelessly into the 
street when at play. 

4. Cross the street carefully when you get off a street car; 
never dash around the back of the car to cross the street. 


44 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


5. Avoid entering the street from between parked cars. 

6. Watch out for cars backing out of alleys and driveways. 

7. In crossing railroad tracks, look both ways. 

8. When riding a bicycle, obey the traffic rules; avoid riding 
a bicycle on streets with heavy traffic. 

9. Do not use roller skates or scooters in the street. 

10. Do not “hook” rides on street cars or automobiles. 

11. Keep away from fallen wires or cables which may be elec¬ 
trically charged. 

12. When hiking on country roads, keep to the left; after dark, 
wear something white. 

13. Set a good example for younger children, and teach them 
to practice safety. 

B. At school 

1. Obey the safety regulations of your school, both in the 
building and outside. 

2. Know what to do when the fire signal is sounded, and al¬ 
ways conduct yourself in an orderly way. 

3. Never push another person when there is danger of his 
falling or being injured. Pushing or crowding at the 
bubbler fountain often results in broken teeth. 

4. Help to keep your playground free from glass, fruit peels, 
and other dangerous materials. 

C. At play 

1. Choose safe places in which to play: playgrounds, -vacant 
lots, public parks, or your own backyard. 

2. Avoid throwing broken glass or tin cans on the beach or on 
the playground. Pick up such articles when you find them 
in places where they are likely to be dangerous. 

3. Do not throw stones or gravel. 

4. Coast in safe places. Do not coast in the street unless it 
is reserved for coasting and properly protected from traffic. 
Do not slide or skate on thin ice. 


5 - 


health rules 


45 



6. Go wading or swimming only in safe places. 

7. Learn to swim under safe conditions. 

8. Avoid accidents in boats and canoes. 

9. Learn to recognize and avoid poison ivy and other poison¬ 
ous plants. 

10. Do not eat berries or fruit which may be harmful. 

11. Do not play with firearms. 

D. At home 

1. Avoid all possibilities of accidents from matches or fire. 

2. Avoid accidents from electrical fixtures. Never touch an 
electric fixture with wet hands, or while standing in the 
bath tub, or while handling the telephone or any other elec¬ 
trical appliance. 

3. Avoid accidents from gas. 


46 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

4. Use a step ladder or a firm chair when you need to reach 
something high. 

5. Put playthings away so that others may not trip and fall. 

6. Smooth out the corner of a rug if it becomes accidentally 
turned up. 

7. Put fruit peels in the proper place; never leave them where 
they may cause a fall. 

8. Be careful in the use of scissors, knives, needles and pins. 

9. Treat all cuts and scratches promptly. 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Discuss in class each of the above groups of rules. 

2. Add as many more rules as you can to each group. 

3. Organize a Safety Patrol to help avoid street accidents 
while children are coming to and going from school. 
(The National Safety Council, 1 Park Ave., New York 
City, will be glad to furnish information upon request.) 


IV 


WHAT IS CLEANLINESS? 

If you were to define cleanliness, you might say that 
a thing which is clean is free from dirt. That defini¬ 
tion is correct if you understand what dirt is. Just 
what do you mean by dirt ? Where does it come from ? 
What does it do ? 

Soil.—Soil is sometimes called dirt; there are many 
different kinds of soil, however. What you call sand 
is made of particles of rock. Gravel is made of coarser 
pieces of rock, often mixed with sand. Clay is finely 
ground rock. The term “dirt” is not so often applied 
to these. Very likely you speak of clean or dirty sand, 
according to whether or not it is free from other ma¬ 
terials. 

The word “dirt” is most often used in speaking of 
garden soil. This contains sand, clay, or gravel, but 
it also contains humus, a substance produced by the 
decay of plant and animal matter. Humus is the source 
of food for plants. Plants will not grow in pure sand, 
gravel, or clay, for these soils contain nothing upon 
which they can feed. 

When you say that garden dirt is “rich,” you mean 
that it contains a large amount of these made-over 
substances. In the woods you have seen how this kind 


47 


48 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Through science we learn the way to health. 


of soil is made. The ground upon which you walk is 
covered with leaves. If you dig down a little way, you 
find that the old leaves underneath have decayed, form¬ 
ing a black humus soil. Children who are familiar with 
gardens or farms know that the richness of the soil is 
increased by adding fertilizer. 

Living things in garden dirt.—Garden dirt also 
differs from sand, gravel, or clay because it contains 










































WHAT IS CLEANLINESS? 


49 



Grass seeds compared with beans in size 


things which are really alive. Even if seeds are not 
planted, grass and weeds will come up, because the seeds 
of these plants are already in the dirt. 

There is a great difference in the size of seeds. You 
may have planted garden seeds like beans or corn. Per¬ 
haps some of you have seen grass seeds, which are very 
much smaller. They are not to be found on blades of 
lawn grass which is kept closely cut. If this grass were 
allowed to grow tall, however, as it does in the hayfield, 
seeds would be formed at the top of the stalks. You 
can understand how hundreds of these tiny seeds may 
exist in a cupful of garden dirt without ever being 
noticed. 

Garden soil contains the still smaller “seedlike” parts 
of such other plants as mushrooms. You are probably 
familiar with the mushrooms which are used as food or 




50 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Mushrooms 


with the so-called toadstools found in the fields and 
woods. Do you know how their “seed parts’’ are 
formed? If you will bring a full-grown mushroom to 
school, break off the stem, and leave it bottom-side down 
on a piece of paper for a few days, you will find that a 
partial “picture” of the underside of the mushroom has 
been left on the paper. The lines of this picture are 
made of a kind of “dust.” 




WHAT IS CLEANLINESS? 


51 



If you could look at some of this “dust” under a 
microscope, you would see that it consists of little 
rounded forms, which are too small to be seen by the 
naked eye. They are spores , which have dropped from 
the under side of the mushroom, thus making a picture, 
or “spore print.” 

Spores serve the same purpose as seeds; that is, they 
produce new plants like the one from which they came. 
Ferns, mosses, molds, and other plants produce spores 
instead of seeds. All spores have the fineness of dust 
and can be carried about in moving air. You can see, 
therefore, that the spores of many plants may be hid¬ 
den in a spoonful of garden dirt. 

Molds and bacteria.—Mold plants are near rela¬ 
tives of mushrooms. When mold spores settle on food, 



52 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

they grow, forming the mold which many of you have 
seen on spoiled food. 

Other plants, still smaller than mold, are found in 
dirt. These are the bacteria. They are never large 
enough so that a single plant can be seen by the naked 
eye; they are seen by the use of a microscope. Every 
teaspoonful of garden dirt contains thousands of bac¬ 
teria. These tiny plants are very useful in transform¬ 
ing the material of the dirt into substances which can 
be absorbed as food by the roots of larger plants. 

The surface of the earth contains living things to a 
depth of several feet—both plants and animals. How 
appropriate it is for scientists to speak of “the living 
earth.” 

Dust.—Garden soil is not the only kind of dirt, how¬ 
ever. The dust which gathers in a house is dirt. If 
you could see some classroom dust under the microscope, 
what would you find ? There might be chalk dust from 
the blackboard; dirt from the floor, partly brought in 
from outside and partly made from the wearing away 
of wood and leather; bits of dandruff from the hair; 
lint from the clothing; particles of smoke and soot. 
Bacteria and spores of mold would probably be there 
also. These tiny plant bodies cannot grow in the air 
or in the dry dust, but they may keep alive there until 
they land upon some food where they can develop. 

Other kinds of dirt.—Another kind of dirt is that 
which collects on your hands.. It may be dust, oil, 
grease, paint, or soil. The entire body becomes dirty 


WHAT IS CLEANLINESS? 


53 



Mold spores highly magnified 


unless it is bathed frequently. Some of this dirt is 
waste left by the perspiration as it evaporates. 

You may think also of dirt in water. Clay in water 
makes it look turbid. Iron particles make it look rusty. 
Tiny green plants, called algce, are sometimes found in 
water. They are too small to be seen by the naked eye, 
but when present in great numbers they give the water 
a greenish color. Leaves, roots, and other parts of 
plants often give water a yellow color and, like the algae, 
make it taste or smell bad. Almost any kind of dirt 
may get into water. 

Dirt also gets into food, and, as you know, food 
spoils quickly if it is not kept clean. The part of dirt 
which makes food spoil is the living part, bacteria and 
molds. For example, apples spoil, rot, or decay. If 



54 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

they are left under the tree to rot, after a time they seem 
to have disappeared. They have turned back to soil 
again. The changing of waste substances back into 
soil is not done by magic, but by these tiny plants called 
mold and bacteria. 

Cleanliness defined. —Cleanliness is the absence of 
dirt. The object of this chapter has been to point out 
that dirt usually consists of living things as well as 
non-living substances, and to show that some of these 
living things are most useful in changing waste prod¬ 
ucts to humus soil. 

Questions for Discussion 

1. What is the difference between garden dirt and other 
kinds of soil? 

2. What kinds of living things are found in garden dirt? 

3. What other kinds of dirt do you know besides garden soil? 
Do these kinds of dirt contain living things, too ? 

4. What happens to the leaves that drop to the ground year 
after year? 

5. What makes fruit rot or decay? If fruit is left lying on 
the ground, what becomes of it? 


V 


MOLD 

What is mold? A few hundred years ago no one 
knew much about the nature of mold beyond the fact 
that it appeared “mysteriously” in various places and 
spoiled food, making it taste distinctly bitter. Today 
the botanist tells us that mold is a plant and that there 
are many different kinds, or species, all included in the 
group of plants which together are called the fungi 
(fun'ji). A single plant of this kind is called a fungus 
(fun'gus). 

Fungi.— A fungus is a plant which is dependent. 
It cannot manufacture its own food from the substances 
of the soil and the air, as green plants manufacture 
theirs, with the aid of sunlight; but it must have its food 
already manufactured. In this respect the fungus is 
more like an animal than it is like the green plants. 
Neither a fungus nor an animal can stick “roots” into 
the ground and grow like a tree. 

The mushrooms are fungi. They are the largest of 
the family. You find them growing upon decaying 
wood, in the decaying substances of very rich soil, or 
wherever there is plenty of manufactured food for them. 
The molds are much smaller fungi. To the naked eye 
they look like a fine white or colored fuzz. 


55 


56 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Mold plant enlarged 


How mold grows. —Where does mold come from? 
Some people think that it appears mysteriously in damp, 
dark places where food and similar substances are left. 
Science teaches us that it does not appear mysteriously 
at all. Each mold plant produces thousands of spores 
which drop from the plant and form part of the dust. 
They are so numerous that there is hardly a bit of dust 
anywhere which does not contain some. They are dis¬ 
tributed by the wind and in every other way by which 
particles of dirt are carried from one place to another. 
Wherever these spores find food and conditions suitable 
for growth, there they develop into mold. Such plants 










MOLD 


57 



are more or less like weeds in a garden. Nobody plants 
them purposely, but so many “seeds’’ are scattered about 
that the “weeds” come up whenever they get a chance. 

With a hand magnifier or reading glass you can 
learn more about the structure of mold. You will see 
that what looks like a fuzz is really a mass of white 
threads. Some threads run along the surface of the 
substance upon which the mold is found. Others grow 
a short distance down into the substance itself. As 
the mold becomes full-grown, some threads grow up 
into the air. At the ends of these threads spores are 
produced. They grow only a very little distance above 
the rest of the plant, yet spores are so light that when 
they drop there is a good chance of their being caught 
and carried about by a slight breath of air. 

It is possible to plant spores upon gelatin, then place 
them under the microscope and study them at the differ¬ 
ent stages of their development. One sees in this way 
that the whole mold plant comes from a single spore. 
The spore breaks open and a thread grows out. This 
first thread takes food from the material upon which it 
is located, and grows very rapidly, branching into a 
tangle of threads. At first the mold is white, but later 






58 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Magnifies 


it may become green, blue, or black as the spores are 
formed. Spores look practically clear when seen under 
the microscope, but they do possess enough color so that 
when they are seen in a mass the color appears. 

Have you any idea of what mold is made? The 
walls are made of a substance like that found in many 
parts of the green plants. Inside the walls is the “living 
stuff” of the plant. If you could weigh a piece of mold 
carefully and then dry it completely and weigh it again, 
you would find that in removing the water through dry¬ 
ing you had taken away more than nine-tenths of the 
weight of the plant. 

How food molds.—What kinds of food mold most 
readily? You immediately think of bread or jam. 
Make a list of other foods which you have known to 









MOLD 59 

mold. Then make a list of foods which do not mold 
easily, such as sugar, dried beans, or dried fruit. 

Look over your two lists and compare the foods. 
You find that foods which do not mold are dry, and 
that those which mold easily contain more or less 
moisture. Although dried beans do not mold, baked 
beans or cooked beans mold quickly. Even dried beans 
will mold after soaking in water for a time. In fact, 
perhaps most of the dry foods in your list would develop 
1 mold if kept in a damp place. A gardener knows that 
each plant has certain conditions under which it grows 
best. Moisture is necessary for the growth of the 
mold plant. 

What other conditions favor the growth of mold? 
Think whether it grows better in the dry attic or in 
the damp cellar; in the dark or in the sunlight; in a 
closed dish or in an open dish exposed to the light and 
air. Darkness as well as dampness favors its growth. 
It can grow in daylight, but direct sunlight kills it. 

Temperature also is important. At what time of 
year do you have the most trouble with mold—in sum¬ 
mer or in winter? Does food mold more quickly or 
less quickly in a refrigerator? Experience has prob¬ 
ably taught you that mold requires a certain amount of 
warmth. Food will mold even in a refrigerator after a 
time, but it will not mold so quickly as in a warm room. 

For every living thing there is a range of tempera¬ 
ture at which it grows best. Temperatures between 
seventy and one hundred degrees Fahrenheit are best 





60 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

for the growth of mold. Do you have any idea how 
warm that is ? 

Mold cannot stand very high temperatures. You 
would never think of mold growing in a hot oven. It 
would be dried up and killed. Some mold spores can 
resist a certain amount of boiling, but when cooked food 
molds, it is nearly always because the mold spores have 
reached the food after the cooking process. 

Mold requires, then, first of all, some manufactured 
food. In addition to that, it needs dim light or dark¬ 
ness, plenty of moisture, and the right degree of warmth. 
All these facts are important in considering the place 
of mold in our everyday life. Food is prevented from 
molding by keeping it clean and by some such process 
as drying, cooling, cooking, or exposing to sunlight. 

The growth of mold in other places.—Do not 
make the mistake of thinking that mold is to be found 
only upon food; it is to be found in many other places. 
Leather molds. Harnesses left undisturbed in damp 
barns frequently gather mold in the summer. At the 
seashore, people sometimes find mold on shoes which 
have been put away for a long time. Gloves mold under 
right conditions and are often spoiled by the little mold 
spots left upon the leather. What experience have you 
had with the molding of leather goods? How can 
leather be protected from mold? 

Mold may grow on clothing, too. This happens 
most commonly when damp clothes, which have been 
sprinkled for ironing, are allowed to lie rolled up for 


MOLD 


6l 


a day or two during warm weather. The mold first 
appears as tiny white spots, which later turn dark in 
color. This type of mold is called mildew. Does it in¬ 
jure the clothes ? How does your mother protect cloth¬ 
ing from mildew? 

If wood is in a damp place and unprotected by varnish 
or paint, it is likely to mold. A house which has been 
shut up for a long time often smells musty because of 
mold about the rugs, curtains, and furniture. How 
does one get rid of the musty odor? 

Useful molds. —We think of mold as a pest. It is 
like a weed in the garden. Yet, as you know, certain 
molds are useful in turning waste substances back into 
soil. Other kinds of mold are definitely useful to man. 
In making strong cheeses, the right kind of mold is pur¬ 
posely allowed to grow in the factory and get into the 
cheese. It gives to cheese a strong flavor which many 
people like. 

How to study mold. —Bring specimens of mold 
into class for your next lesson. If you can find any 
moldy food at home, keep it carefully covered and bring 
it to school just as it is. Do not try to change it from 
one dish to another, because the little mold plants may 
be crushed or spoiled so that you cannot study them 
at all. 

If you cannot find any mold, try to grow some 
Choose a food which molds easily. Smear it over with 
dust or dirt. Supply it with the conditions which help 
mold to grow—moisture, warmth, darkness. The 






62 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


greater number of specimens you have in class, the 
greater is your chance of seeing all the things you want 
to observe. 

Bring magnifying glasses also. The large reading 
glass with a handle is best, but if you cannot get one 
of these, bring whatever you have. Even a small mag¬ 
nifier is very helpful. 

In the meantime, talk with your mother about mold. 
Find out what she does to keep her pantry free from 
it. Bring your information into class for discussion. 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Try some experiments to see the effect of different condi¬ 
tions upon mold. 

(a) Set one dish of mold in the direct sunlight. Put 
another away in the dark. Observe which grows 
better. 

(b) Leave two dishes of mold beside each other, one 
covered and the other uncovered. Observe the ef¬ 
fect of drying. 

2. State the most important facts about mold in brief sen¬ 
tences. 

3. Make a set of rules showing how to care for food so as to 
prevent its molding. 

4. Study the moving picture “Mold and Yeast” (Eastman 
Teaching Films) if it is available. 



VI 

BACTERIA—THE SMALLEST PLANTS IN 
THE WORLD 

Bacteria take part in many common processes which 
are going on about us. For example, they cause milk to 
sour. If you ask a person why milk sours, he may say 
it is because the milk is left in a warm room and that it 
will not sour so quickly if you keep it cold. What he 
says is true, but the souring is really due to certain bac¬ 
teria which grow in the milk. They feed upon the milk 
and manufacture an acid (lactic acid). The milk sours 
more quickly in a warm room than in the refrigerator 

63 











64 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

because these plants, like most others, grow more rap- 
idly where it is warm. 

This is only one example of an important process car¬ 
ried on by these plants which are too small for the human 
eye to see. It will be interesting to learn something of 
the microscope, by means of which man has been able 
to see these plants and to study their nature and activi¬ 
ties.* 

The microscope. —If you have ever looked through 
a magnifying glass, you know that it makes an object 
appear larger than it really is. Through the glass 
you can see smaller parts which you could not see at 
all before. The compound microscope is a combina¬ 
tion of magnifying glasses which makes a tiny object 
appear several hundred times its actual size. It is one 
of the most useful tools of science today. 

You can easily understand that the invention of the 
first compound microscope made it possible for man to 
see things he had never seen before. It has revealed 
a great many little plants and animals so small that 
their existence had been unknown. Is it not strange to 
think that through thousands of years of human his¬ 
tory man was without a knowledge of these living 
things ? 

Mold was one of the first things studied with the 
compound microscope. The yeast plant, a relative of 

* The School Health Bureau of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., 
1 Madison Ave., New York City, has issued a unit of work on bacteria, 
which was prepared under the supervision of one of the authors of this 
book, and which suggests many pupil activities in addition to those men¬ 
tioned in this chapter. 


BACTERIA 


65 


7*? 

00 0 

0 

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c\ u® 

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( © 

oVltf 

£si*% 

Vl 



Upper pictures show the appearance of living bacteria. The 
lower pictures show bacteria which have been stained or colored 
with dye. 1 and 2, cocci; 3 and 4, bacilli; 5 and 6, spirilla. 


mold, was studied with great care. It was found to be 
present in every fermentation of alcohol, such as the 
process of wine-making. 

Bacteria. —Bacteria do not have roots, stems, or 
leaves, as the large plants do. In fact, they are even 
simpler than mold. Seen under the microscope they are 
colorless and nearly transparent, although in large 
masses they often have some definite color. 

They are separated into three great groups, accord¬ 
ing to their shape. The cocci (coc'si) are round like 
marbles. The bacilli (ba sil'li) are rod-shaped or sau¬ 
sage-shaped. The spirilla (spi ril'la) are curved like 
the letter S. 











66 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

The conditions under which bac¬ 
teria grow best are the same as those 
for mold. There must be some sub¬ 
stance from which the bacteria can 
take the food they need for growth; 
there must be a certain degree of 
moisture, darkness, and warmth. 
Some bacteria can withstand cold. 
Some can withstand a fairly high 
temperature. All bacteria are killed 
by direct sunlight and by sufficient 
boiling or baking. 

The method of growth is simple. 
When a bacterium finds itself under 
the right conditions, it grows, or be¬ 
comes larger, just as any plant does. 
As it reaches a certain size, its body 
wall contracts around the center. 
This contraction increases until the 
plant breaks apart, making two in 
place of one. This process of mul¬ 
tiplication (growth and division) 
continues indefinitely, so long as 
conditions are favorable. 

Under favorable conditions bac¬ 
teria can divide as often as once 
every fifteen minutes, until they be¬ 
come so numerous as to interfere 
with each other or use up the food 















BACTERIA 


67 

supply which is within reach. Starting with a single 
bacterium, how many bacteria would there be at the 
end of five hours if each new cell divided into new ones 
fifteen minutes after it was produced? 

Five hundred of the largest known bacteria, if ar¬ 
ranged end to end, would measure only one inch; that is, 
a single plant is one five-hundredth of an inch in length. 
Some of these plants are so small that it would take five 
thousand of them to measure one inch. Thirty trillions 
weigh on the average only about two ounces. 

Many of these plants have no power of movement, 
but some of them can swim about in water. The most 
active of them can move about twelve ten-thousandths 
of an inch a second. If man could move at the same 
rate in proportion to his size, he would be able to run 
more than a mile a minute. 

What bacteria do. —Because they can increase in 
number so rapidly and because of their small size, bac¬ 
teria are found widespread throughout the world. 
They are in garden dirt, in dust, in air, in water, and 
even in the digestive tract of the human body. Most 
of them are as harmless as grass and flowers. Some 
of them are very useful. 

For example, cider is changed to vinegar by the 
growth of bacteria. The “mother” of vinegar is made 
up of a mass of the tiny acetic acid bacteria. You 
have already learned that lactic acid bacteria cause the 
souring of milk. Ordinarily this is not helpful, but 
in the making of certain kinds of cheese, and in start- 


68 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Planting bacteria from dust on the finger tips 


mg’ the churning of butter, lactic acid bacteria are use¬ 
ful. 

You have heard that hemlock bark is used in tanning 
leather. Certain bacteria which feed upon the juices 
of hemlock bark ferment these juices or “act on the 
bark” to produce the tannic acid which ‘ tans the 
leather. Still other bacteria assist in the making of 
linen fibers from flax. Countless bacteria live in the 
upper layers of the earth, helping to transform plant 
and animal substances back into soil, and preparing the 
substances of the soil for use by the larger plants. 

There are varieties of bacteria which are as harm¬ 
less and as little known by people generally as the wild 
flowers of the forest. There are other bacteria, like 
those which cause food to spoil, which are nuisances, 
but which are not harmful. Only a few are really 
injurious to man. Through the science of bacteriology 
we are gradually learning to avoid and control those 









BACTERIA 


69 



In two days the few bacteria left by the finger tips have grown 
into colonies large enough to be seen by the naked eye. 


which are harmful, and to make the useful ones of still 
greater service. 

Have you ever heard the word microorganism? 
This really means any living thing which is so small 
that it can be seen only with the microscope, whether it 
be a microscopic animal or a microscopic plant like 
one of the bacteria. You are probably more familiar 
with the word germ or the word microbe. Both words 
originally had the same meaning as microorganism , 
but many people now use these words in speaking only 
of the harmful microorganisms. No one of these three 
words names a particular group of plants as does the 
word bacteria. In all our classroom work, then, let us 
use the correct word and call them bacteria. 

Studying bacteria. —In order to study bacteria, it 
is necessary to grow them, just as the botanist may 
need to grow the plants which he wants to become 







CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


70 

acquainted with. Instead of growing bacteria in soil, 
scientists use specially prepared substances called media. 
One of the most common forms of media is gelatin 
—not very different from the gelatin of which pud¬ 
dings are made at home. Another kind of media, 
called agar, is made from seaweed and is very much 
like gelatin. Sometimes bacteria are grown in liquids 
like beef broth or dissolved sugar. The value of using 
gelatin or agar comes from the fact that it hardens as 
it becomes cool, and thus separates the bacteria and 
keeps the descendants of each plant in one spot instead 
of allowing them to float about. A special growth of 
bacteria is called a bacterial culture . 

Questions for Discussion 

1. What are bacteria ? 

2. What shapes have they? 

3. What conditions favor their growth? 

4. Where are bacteria found? 

5. How do they increase in number ? 

6. In what ways are bacteria useful ? 

7. What are media? 

8. What is a bacterial culture ? 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. The making of media and the methods of studying bac¬ 
teria in the laboratory are well shown for boys and girls 
in a moving picture called “Bacteria” (Eastman Teaching 
Films). Use this film for study if it is available. 

2. Write in brief sentences the most important facts about 
bacteria and their growth. 





BACTERIA 


71 

Make some experiments with culture media if you are able 
to get some from your Health Department. Put into 
separate test tubes of sterile culture media: (1) dust; (2) 
a few drops of tap water; (3) dirt from under the finger 
nails ; and (4) a pinch of garden soil. Put each tube in a 
warm, dark place for a few days and see whether bacteria 
grow from the material you have dropped in. (The unit 
of work on Bacteria available from the Metropolitan Life 
Insurance Company suggests several easy and interesting 
experiments.) 


VII 


PASTEUR AND A NEW SCIENCE 

Louis Pasteur gave us our first really important 
knowledge of bacteria. He paved the way for a new 
science—bacteriology. The story of his life and dis¬ 
coveries is as thrilling as a great adventure. 

Pasteur was not only one of the most famous French¬ 
men, but one of the greatest scientists of any time or any 
country. He was born at Dole, France, December 27, 
1822. His father was a tanner. Although his par¬ 
ents were poor and lowly in position, they were rich and 
noble in their qualities of mind and character. Pasteur 
himself became a most lovable man. With all his great¬ 
ness he was not proud and haughty, but kind and sym¬ 
pathetic. He loved boys and girls and used to remind 
people that the great scientists of tomorrow are to be 
found among the school boys and girls .of the present 
day. 

Fermentation. —Pasteur was educated as a chemist, 
and his first work was on the chemistry of certain sub¬ 
stances, the crystals of which he studied under the 
microscope. His more important work, however, dealt 
with the nature of bacteria. 

Before the time of Pasteur, there was little knowl¬ 
edge of such microscopic plants as yeast and bac- 


72 


Pasteur 


73 

















74 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Yeast cells highly magnified 


teria. The yeast plant had been seen under the micro¬ 
scope, but there was no definite proof that yeast causes 
the fermentation of alcohol. 

Pasteur by his experiments proved that fermenta¬ 
tion is due to the life processes of yeast growing in a 
sweet liquid. All animals and plants take food into 
their bodies and throw off waste products which they 
cannot use. The principal food of the yeast plant is 
sugar. Feeding upon sugar, it throws off alcohol and 
carbon dioxide as waste products. The carbon dioxide, 
being a gas, passes off from the liquid in which the yeast 
is growing. The alcohol remains. 

Past generations have not understood the harmful 
effects of alcohol upon the body, and the use of alcoholic 
drinks was formerly quite widespread. At the present 
time, we recognize alcohol as one of man’s most danger¬ 
ous enemies. After reading about its injurious effects 
in Chapter XVI, you will see why it has seemed desirable 


PASTEUR AND A NEW SCIENCE 75 

to prohibit the sale of wine, beer, and all other alcoholic 
drinks, which have brought so much sickness, hardship, 
and suffering to people in the past. 

Pasteur’s interest in fermentation grew rapidly, and 
he began to study the fermentation, or souring, of milk. 
He found that when milk sours, little gray patches can 
be seen on the sides of the dish. When he placed some 
of this material under the microscope, he found it to be 
made up of tiny globules even smaller than those of 
yeast. Whenever this material was transferred to 
fresh milk, the milk soured. These globules were bac¬ 
teria, and this particular kind of bacterial plant is the 
“ferment” of milk. 

Diseases of wine and beer. —Pasteur made other 
experiments with ferments by studying the “diseases” 
of wine and beer. In those spoiled liquors which had 
a sour or bitter taste he found, in addition to the yeast, 
little rod-shaped bodies (bacteria). He explained to 
the manufacturer that these bacteria get into the vats 
where wine or beer is being made and start an un¬ 
healthy fermentation. He discovered also that these 
diseases or bad tastes are not developed if the wine or 
beer is heated just enough to kill the bacteria. Thus it 
came about that the name “pasteurization” was given 
to the process of heating liquids sufficiently to kill any 
undesirable bacteria nvhich may be present. Thus 
originated the process so widely used today to kill bac¬ 
teria in milk. 

Pasteur had proved for all time that these different 


76 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

kinds of fermentation are caused each by its own fer¬ 
ment and that each ferment is a living plant. He could 
not help raising in his mind this question: “If some 
of these bacteria are the ferments which cause the dis¬ 
eases of wine and beer, is it not possible that other 
plants of this type may cause diseases in the bodies of 
animals ?” 

Diseases of silkworms. —About this time (1865), 
there was a disease among the silkworms in southern 
France. This was serious, because in many towns the 
raising of silkworms was the chief occupation of the 
people. The mulberry tree, upon the leaves of which 
worms were fed, was called the tree of gold, and the 
hurdles upon which the worms or caterpillars were kept 
were often placed in the best rooms of the houses. 

When stricken by disease the worms would stop eat¬ 
ing, wither, and die before they had formed their silken 
cocoons. It looked as though the whole industry might 
be ruined. For years the disease had spread and no 
one had been able to check it. Such useless remedies 
as dusting the worms with charcoal, sulphur, ashes, 
mustard, and sugar had been tried without avail. 
Pasteur was asked to study the disease. He knew 
nothing about silkworms, but he undertook to find out 
what was the cause of the disease, how it was spread, 
and how it could be controlled. 

Other workers had found small, oval-shaped bodies 
in the sick worms. These they had called corpuscles. 
Pasteur found these with his microscope and recog- 


PASTEUR AND A NEW SCIENCE 


77 



Life history of the silkworm: i, silkworm (larva) feeding 
upon mulberry leaves; 2, cocoons of the silkworm; 3, cocoon 
open, showing the pupa inside; 4 an d 5 > full-grow T n silkworm 
moths. 

nized them as still another kind of bacteria. The pres¬ 
ence of these bacteria and the waste products thrown 
off by them caused the disease of the worms. From 




yS CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

this knowledge Pasteur developed a method of grow¬ 
ing silkworms under such conditions that only eggs of 
healthy moths were allowed to hatch, and thus the bac¬ 
teria of the disease were excluded. The disease was 
stamped out and the industry was saved. 

Other studies. —A still more interesting study by 
Pasteur dealt with a disease of cattle and sheep known 
as anthrax or splenic fever. Thousands of animals 
died from this disease each year in the various coun¬ 
tries of Europe. Through the work of Pasteur the 
disease was put under control. He made other studies, 
too, regarding the nature of disease and methods of 
fighting it.* 

To Pasteur, then, the world owes a great debt of 
gratitude. It was he who discovered the importance 
of various kinds of bacteria in their relation to man. 
Upon his scientific discoveries rest many of the im¬ 
portant principles in the sciences of bacteriology, medi¬ 
cine, and surgery. 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Find out more about the life and work of Louis Pasteur.f 
Questions to Answer 

, i. Who was Pasteur ? 

2. What was the important work done by Pasteur ? 

3. What makes milk ferment, or sour? 

4. What is “pasteurization” ? 

5. Describe Pasteur’s work on the disease of silkworms. 

* See Chapter XV. 

f An interesting account of his life is published by D. C. Heath & Co. 
A free film strip can be obtained from the Metropolitan Life Insurance 
Co., New York. 


VIII 


TEETH 

So far as we know, man is the only animal who 
smiles. Perhaps he is the only animal whose teeth are 
an aid to beauty. He is also the only animal whose 
teeth commonly decay during early years of life. If 
you have had pets, you know that their teeth are clean 
and strong, and that decay or loosening does not usually 
appear until old age. Why is it that man, who smiles 
and is proud of his teeth, has teeth less strong than those 
of the lower animals ? 

You doubtless know already that bacteria have a 
part in tooth decay. From your present understanding 
of them you can easily see that the mouth furnishes 
conditions which are favorable for their growth. The 
action of bacteria in the decay of teeth is very impor¬ 
tant, but it is not the whole story. In order to find out 
exactly what happens, it is necessary to become ac¬ 
quainted with the nature of the teeth and the nature of 
decay. 

The development of the teeth. —Every mother 
watches eagerly for the baby to cut his first tooth, 
which appears when'he is about six months old. By 
the time he is two or two and a half years old, he has his 
first set complete—ten teeth on the upper jaw, and ten 
on the lower. 


79 


8 o 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



( i ) and ( 2) Six-year molars 
(3) and ( 4) Central incisors 
(5) and ( 6) Lateral incisors 
( 7) and (8) First bicuspids 
( 9) Lower cuspids 
(10) and (11) Second bicuspids 
(12) Upper cuspids 
(13) and (14) Twelve-year molars 


This illustration shows 
the teeth of a child twelve 
years old. The teeth come 
through in the order in 
which they are numbered, 
as follows: 

Fifth to seventh year 
Sixth to eighth year 
Seventh to ninth year 
Eighth to tenth year 
Ninth to eleventh year 
Tenth to twelfth year 
Eleventh to thirteenth year 
Twelfth to fourteenth year 


Do you know that the second teeth are formed within 
the jaw while the first teeth are still in use? These 
second teeth are larger and are made to last throughout 
life. In the second set, the first teeth which appear are 
the six-year molars; these come through just back of 
the baby teeth and are often mistaken for teeth of the 
first set. 

Between the ages of six and thirteen the baby teeth 
are all replaced with permanent ones. Between the 
ages of twelve and fourteen the twelve-year molars 
come through. The four wisdom teeth appear later at 
the age of seventeen, or older, and complete the second 
or permanent set of thirty-two teeth. 


TEETH 


8 l 


The structure o£ the teeth. —Teeth are made of 
a calcium compound. Calcium is the chief substance 
in lime and marble. Each tooth has two parts—the 
crown, which can be seen, and the root, which is below 
the gum. The outside covering of the crown is enamel, 
the hardest substance in the body. Beneath that is den¬ 
tine, which forms the great bulk of the tooth, in both the 
crown and the root. The dentine is not so hard as the 
enamel. 

At the center of the tooth is the pulp cavity, con¬ 
taining blood vessels and nerves. The nerves sense 
heat and cold, and through the blood vessels the pulp 
of the tooth is nourished. 

Tooth decay. —As you consider the question of 
decay, keep in mind the fact that the hard mineral parts 
of the tooth were made from substances which the body 
secured from food. If the diet has been lacking in 
calcium, phosphates, and vitamin-containing foods, the 
dentine is soft and the enamel imperfect. Thus poor 
diet is often the beginning of tooth decay. 

How are bacteria related to decay? Certain bac¬ 
teria which live in the mouth change sugars into acids. 
If there is an opening or break in the enamel, these 
acids will slowly dissolve the dentine of the tooth as 
they do chalk or marble. Careful studies made at the 
Forsyth Dental Infirmary and at other places have 
shown that the enamel covering of most teeth is im¬ 
perfect from the time the teeth are cut. These open¬ 
ings in the enamel are as tiny as pin points, but they 


82 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Longitudinal section of tooth 
























TEETH 


83 

expose spots of dentine to the action of acid-forming 
bacteria, and here decay usually begins. Sometimes 
the enamel is cracked or the nerve of the tooth is injured 
by biting things which are too hard, as in cracking nuts 
or biting off threads. Picking the teeth with a pin is 
dangerous because it is likely to injure the gums or the 
enamel. 

Dentine decays rapidly, and usually a tiny hole in 
the enamel means a much larger hole in the dentine 
underneath. As the hole in the dentine increases, the 
enamel may break away until the crown of the tooth 
is nearly gone; as soon as decay gets near the pulp, you 
have a toothache. 

Preventing decay. —What can be done to prevent 
tooth decay? One important thing is to follow a diet 
which will furnish the material for building strong 
teeth. Teeth which have a thick covering of enamel 
and are built from a good supply of calcium will resist 
decay. 

Since the permanent teeth are all built during the 
early years of childhood, you can see how important it 
is to have tooth-building foods at that time. A good 
diet at any time will help to improve the quality of the 
teeth, but no amount of care in later years can make 
strong, beautiful teeth out of those which were poorly 
built in the first place. A house cannot be built of paper. 
No more can teeth be built from candies and cakes. A 
diet rich in milk, fresh fruit, leafy vegetables, and whole- 
grain cereals is the only source of good building-ma- 


84 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Milk is a tooth-building food. 


terials for teeth. Hard foods also help to build strong 
teeth, because they exercise the jaws. Try to eat at 
every meal some food which requires vigorous chewing. 

The dentist plays a part, too, in saving your teeth. 
If you are cautious, you will give him a chance to do 
something more valuable than to pull out those teeth 
which have decayed; you will let him help you to pre¬ 
vent decay. Go to the dentist regularly so that he can 


















TEETH 


85 

examine the teeth as they come through and repair any 
imperfections he may find in the enamel. He will clean 
and polish them, removing deposits which may injure 
the health of the gums. The tooth cannot repair itself; 
the dentist can repair it. 

The toothbrush removes particles of food which 
might ferment and hasten decay. Use a brush which 
is stiff enough to clean your teeth thoroughly, and small 
enough to reach all parts of the mouth. Brush with 
an up-and-down stroke to remove particles of food 
lodged between the teeth. Be sure to clean all the 
surfaces of all the teeth. Brush your gums, your 
tongue, and the roof of the mouth, too. Your tooth¬ 
brush is not merely a tooth brush; it is a mouth brush. 
Rinse your mouth thoroughly, swishing the water back 
and forth through the little openings between the teeth. 
If you use dental floss, be very careful not to tear your 
gums. Regular brushing and a good diet help to keep 
the gums firm, pink, and healthy. 

Do you have regular times for brushing your teeth ? 
From supper to breakfast is the longest time between 
meals, and brushing your teeth before going to bed is 
therefore most important. If you brush your teeth 
the first thing in the morning, you remove bacterial 
deposits which have formed on the teeth during the 
night. Perhaps you brush your teeth after each meal, 
too. This gives you the pleasant feeling of a clean 
mouth, which is one of the rewards of brushing the 
teeth regularly. Certain acid fruits, like oranges, 


86 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Care of the toothbrush 


grapefruit, apples, and pineapple, help to clean your 
teeth at the end of a meal. 

The care of the toothbrush. —Your knowledge of 
bacteria helps you to understand why each person should 
use his own brush, and why the care of the toothbrush 
is so important. After using it rinse it well, preferably 
in hot water. Then shake it and put it in a clean place 
to dry. If it is not rinsed and dried, bacteria may mul¬ 
tiply in the brush itself. Drying the brush occasionally 
in the sunlight helps to keep it fresh and clean. 

What is a clean, dry place for your brush ? A closed 
toothbrush case, the edge of the washbasin, or a closed 
medicine cabinet is not a good place. Discuss in class 
different places where your toothbrush may be kept. 
















TEETH 87 

Why is it undesirable to keep one where it may touch a 
brush belonging to some one else? 

The importance of saving the teeth. —Every 
tooth, whether temporary or permanent, is worth tak¬ 
ing care of. The baby teeth are needed not only for 
chewing but also to enable the second teeth to develop 
properly. Nature intends that they shall last until the 
second teeth come through. If any of the second teeth 
are lost, especially the six-year molars, there is a ten¬ 
dency for the other teeth to drift. 

Good teeth enable you to chew your food, to speak 
distinctly, and to present a pleasing appearance. 
Teeth cannot be satisfactorily replaced. Take good 
care of the ones you have. 

Things You May Like to Do 

X. Explain the following rules for the care of teeth: 

(a) Drink at least two glasses of milk every day. 

(b) Eat leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, and whole-grain 

cereals. 

■(c) Eat at every meal some hard food which has to be 
chewed thoroughly. 

(d) Brush your teeth at least twice a day. 

(e) Keep your toothbrush clean. 

(f) Visit the dentist at least every six months. 

(g) Avoid injuring the teeth. 

2. With the help of your teacher or nurse, make a general 
inspection of the class to discover how many pupils have 
teeth in the best possible condition; i.e., clean and without 
cavities. 

3. Carry on a campaign to get all dental defects corrected. 


88 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

You may use an honor roll for those who bring a certificate 
from the dentist showing that all necessary repair work 
has been completed. 

4. Use inspections or health-habit records to secure better 
habits of brushing the teeth regularly. 

5. Interest your little brothers and sisters in caring for their 
teeth, and help them to save their six-year molars. 

6. You may be able to get a model of the teeth from a dentist. 
A study of such a model will show the different kinds of 
teeth, how they are arranged, the places where food may 
be left, and the value of brushing with an up-and-down 
motion. 

7. Study the moving pictures ‘‘How Teeth Grow” and Care 
of the Teeth” (Eastman Teaching Films) if they are 
available. 


IX 


WHAT THE BODY IS MADE OF 

How much would you take for your right hand? 
Would you sell your tongue for $10,000? Or your 
eyes for a quarter of a million? When you come to 
set a price on the different parts of your body, they 
seem very valuable. Are you taking care of your body 
as well as a thing of so much value deserves ? 

To take proper care of any complicated machine or 
instrument, one needs to know, at least in a general way, 
how it is made. Imagine that a beautiful watch, lost 
by an explorer, has been found by a savage. The watch 
with its regular ticking and moving hands would seem 
marvelous and wonderful, but what would happen when 
it ran down ? The savage would have no idea of what 
was needed to make it go. He might hold it in the fire, 
pound it with a stone, or dance around it in worship. 
Probably it would never occur to him to wind it up and 
give it a shake, because he would not know anything 
about the way it is made or how it works. 

If you want to keep your body running perfectly 
without its “losing time,” you need to know enough 
about its nature to take good care of it and keep it 
“going.” It is not necessary for you to have a watch¬ 
maker’s knowledge about a watch in order to take good 
care of it. Neither is it necessary for you to have a 
89 


90 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

physician’s knowledge about the body in order to take 
good care of it. Your watch should be looked over by 
a watchmaker once in a while, and your body should be 
examined by the physician fairly often in order to have 
expert advice; but the job of running both the watch 
and the body and of keeping them in condition belongs 
to you. You will need to know, then, the general prin¬ 
ciples of the construction and operation of the human 
body. 

Power for the human machine. —The power in a 
watch comes from the mainspring which is wound up 
every day. The power of a ship comes from burning 
coal or oil in the fire box. In an automobile the power 
comes from the burning of gasoline. The power for 
human activity comes from the ‘Turning” of food. 

There is one important difference, however, between 
the living mechanism—the body—and an ordinary ma¬ 
chine. In a machine, the fuel is burned in one particu¬ 
lar place and the power is transferred to the different 
parts. In the human machine, the fuel is not burned in 
a fire box, but in all parts of the mechanism. The diges¬ 
tive tract digests food but does not burn it. The stom¬ 
ach and intestines are the “workshops or laboratories” 
where certain foods are turned into fuel for the other 
parts of the body. 

Of course there is no flame in the human body. Yet 
the fuel or energy foods which the body uses—sugar, 
starches, and fat—are substances which do burn with 
a flame outside the body. Perhaps burning food sub- 


WHAT THE BODY IS MADE OF 91 



stances for body energy, then, is not entirely different 
from burning fuel for power in an engine. 

The production of heat from the burning of foods 
keeps the body warm. Even when you go swimming 



















92 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

in cold water, or stay outdoors in cold weather for 
hours at a time, the body still keeps warm. In fact, 
the body automatically produces and loses heat with 
such perfect balance that its temperature remains at 
about 98.6° all the time. This temperature is so con¬ 
stant that it is regarded as a sign of health, and its 
variation is a sign of illness. 

Building units—the cells. —In order to find out 
how the body develops its energy and uses its power, 
you need to know more about how it is made. You 
know that a building is constructed from different 
types of building units. The units are of various kinds, 
including bricks, building stones, planks, lathes, and 
windowpanes. They are grouped together in different 
places and in different ways. 

This same principle of structure is found in the body. 
The skin, or any other part of the body, may seem 
smooth and without definite structure. If you could 
look at it through the microscope, however, you would 
see that it is made up of tiny building units arranged 
in a definite way. 

The units in the body are called the cells. Cells in 
the body correspond to planks, bricks, stones, lathes, 
or windowpanes in the building. There are many dif¬ 
ferent kinds of cells just as there are many kinds of 
building units. All parts of the body, including 
muscles, digestive tract, brain, nerves, heart, and even 
bone, are made up of these cells, either alone or in 
combination with substances produced by them. It is 


WHAT THE BODY IS MADE OF 


93 



ojul modx 


p^XK^XLct^, 


out 


within the body cells that the burning of fuel takes 
place. 

Cells differ widely in shape and in the use to which 
they are put in the body, but the material of which 





















CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


94 

living cells are made is much the same in all cases. It 
is the living stuff of the body, called protoplasm . None 
of the cells are large enough to be seen by the naked 
eye. When seen under the microscope they are partly 
transparent and look much like a bit of egg-white or a 
bit of clear gelatin. 

Tissues.—Cells of the same kind are grouped to¬ 
gether in the body just as building units of the 
same kind are grouped together in a house. A group 
of bricks make a wall; a group of planks form a 
floor; a group of windowpanes form a window. In 
the body a group of like cells form a tissue. You have 
probably heard of bone and muscle tissues. Other cells 
make up the tissues of the brain, nerves, glands, 
and other parts of the body. There are also connec¬ 
tive tissues, the cells of which bind different parts to¬ 
gether. 

The transportation of substances within the 
body.—Water plays a very important part in the struc¬ 
ture and functioning of the body. Not only does each 
cell contain a great deal of water, but the space between 
cells is filled with watery fluid. Digested food sub¬ 
stances are dissolved in water; in this form they pass 
through the walls of the digestive tract and are carried 
to all parts of the body. 

The transportation system within the body is a water- 
carrier system. The circulating blood is the most im¬ 
portant part of this system, with the heart acting as a 
great pump to keep the fluid moving. 



The heart is divided by a partition through the mid¬ 
dle into a right side and left side, each having an upper 
and lower chamber. The blood is pumped from the 
right side of the heart through arteries to the lungs. 
Veins bring the blood from the lungs to the left side of 
the heart. From here it is sent to all parts of the body 
through another set of arteries. Veins bring the blood 










































































^6 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

back from the tissues to the right side of the heart. 
Capillaries connect arteries and veins. 

You can feel the pumping action of the heart if you 
put your hand on the artery of the wrist and “feel your 
pulse.” You can see veins showing under the skin of 
the wrist or the back of the hand. 

The blood is made up of a watery fluid in which red 
and white corpuscles are carried. The red blood cor¬ 
puscles take oxygen from the lungs to all tissues of 
the body and carry back to the lungs the carbon di¬ 
oxide, which is a waste substance. The white blood 
cells help the body to destroy some of the harmful bac¬ 
teria. 

Another thing which the blood does is to carry dis¬ 
solved food substances throughout the body. The cells 
in the various tissues are bathed in fluids containing 
these dissolved foods. As each cell uses up its food 
and burns its fuel it gives off waste products. These 
return to the blood stream either directly or through 
special channels called lymph vessels. 

Think of this as though each cell were a house with 
the blood stream acting as the grocery man who brings 
food. The waste is set out in the alley where it is col¬ 
lected by the ash man—the lymph. 

Removal of waste.—But, you say, what happens to 
these waste products when they get back into the blood? 
One waste product is carbon dioxide, which is thrown 
off through the lungs. The kidneys remove another 
kind of waste. 


WHAT THE BODY IS MADE OF 


97 



Red and white corpuscles of the blood (highly magnified) 


The two kidneys are in the large body cavity at the 
small of the back and as the blood flows through them 
the nitrogenous waste is removed. Nitrogen is a sub¬ 
stance which is found in all protoplasm; that is, in all 
living cells. It is the chief substance in protein. The 
tissues use protein foods for growth and repair, and 
their waste products are thrown into the blood and 
removed by the kidneys. 

The importance of water.—Water also is thrown 
off by the body—through moisture in the breath as it 
comes from the lungs, through the kidneys, where it 
carries away nitrogenous waste with it, and through 
the skin, which is cleansed and cooled by perspiration. 

You can see several reasons for drinking a large 
amount of water. (i) The carrier system of the body 
is a water system. (2) The tissues are bathed in fluid. 
(3) The kidney uses water in removing nitrogenous 
waste. (4) The intestines need water to remove in¬ 
testinal waste. (5) Water is needed for perspiration. 

General body structures.—This chapter does not 
aim to describe the many structures of the body in 
detail, but merely to show what the units of body struc- 


98 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



THE SKELETON 


A skull 

B spinal column (33 vertebrae) 
C sternum 
D ribs 
E clavicle 
F scapula. 

G humerus 
H radius 
I ulna 
J carpal bones 
K metacarpal bones 
L phalanges 
At pelvis 
Jf femur 
O patella 
P tibia 
Q fibula 
R tarsal bones 
S' metatarsal bones / 

T phalanges 


ture are and how these units—the cells—-are supplied 
with food and relieved of their waste products. 

In a general way you know most of the important 
structures of the body. The bones make up its frame- 









































WHAT THE BODY IS MADE OF 


99 



work, or skeleton. The muscles are attached to dif¬ 
ferent bones and move them one upon the other, mak¬ 
ing possible all the various bodily movements. The 
brain and the spinal cord and nerves make up the 










































IOO CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



nervous system, which sends messages from any part 
of the body to the mind and from the mind to parts 
of the body. 

The heart and biood vessels provide the carrier sys- 


















































WHAT THE BODY IS MADE OF 


IOI 



tem or the circulation for the body. The digestive tract 
furnishes the workshops in which foods are digested. 
The skin provides a protective covering. 




























102 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

Questions to Answer 

1. What furnishes the power for the human body? 

2. How is fuel burned in the body ? 

3. How does the body keep the same temperature all the 
time ? 

4. What is the building unit for the body? Name several 
different kinds. 

5. What name is given to the living substance of the cell? 

6. What is the difference between arteries and veins ? 

7. What is the work of the red blood corpuscles ? 

8. What is the work of the white blood corpuscles ? 

9. How is food carried to all parts of the body? 

10. Name two kinds of waste from the body and tell how 
each is thrown off. 

11. Give four reasons why the body needs a great amount of 
water. 

12. What does the nervous system do ? 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Keep a record for two weeks showing the amount of water 
you drink daily. 

2. Make a list of foods which contain a large amount of fuel 
for the body. 

3. Make a list of foods which contain a large amount of 
building material for the body cells. 

4. Count your pulse when you have been sitting still for some 
time; count the pulse again after you have been exercising 
vigorously. What is the pulse rate per minute in each 
case? 

5. Refer to the chart on page 98 to see how many of the 
important bones of the body you already know by name. 

6. Refer to the chart on page 99 to see how many of the 
muscles named you can locate on your own body. 


X 


WORKSHOPS OF THE BODY 

When you think of “workshops,” you think of places 
where men work to make things—perhaps furniture, 
pottery, or brassware. The chief business of work¬ 
shops, as you know them, is to manufacture things or 
to make them over. There are strange and interesting 
workshops in the human body. Some of them are 
found in the digestive system, and the busy workers are 
the digestive juices. Here the foods are taken apart so 
that they can be used by the body. 

The foods which you eat are used to build and regu¬ 
late your body, and to furnish fuel, which is burned in 
the muscles to make you “go” and keep you warm. 
Your body cannot use these foods as they are, however. 
They must be separated into simple substances. 

Imagine a lot of printer's type set up in “forms” 
which have been used. The type can be used again to 
set up new words, but it must be taken apart first. The 
different letters and figures must be separated from 
each other before they can be put together again in set¬ 
ting up new “copy.” 

The principle of digestion. —So it is with foods 
in the body. In the workshops of the digestive system 
the foods are taken apart. The simple substances are 
separated from each other. Then they can be absorbed 

103 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


104 

by the blood stream and carried to various parts of the 
body to be built into body tissues or to be burned as fuel. 

You may remember that there are three groups of 
food substances: (1) proteins; (2) carbohydrates; (3) ■ 
fats. (Name foods containing each.) Each food 
which we eat differs from the others in “composition”; 
that is, in the substances of which it is made. For this \ 
reason, all foods cannot be dissolved or digested by the 
same process. You can easily see that a digestive juice 
which would dissolve sugar might not affect fat at all. 
Indeed, water will dissolve sugar but it will not dissolve 
fat. You know also that certain cleaning fluids, used 
to remove grease spots from clothing, will dissolve fat 
but they will not dissolve meat or bread. In the work¬ 
shops of the digestive tract, there are several different ; 
“workers,” or kinds of digestive juices, so that each kind 
of food can be taken apart and changed into the simple 
substances which the body can use. 

Digestion in the mouth. —The first workshop is the 
mouth. The teeth and jaws form a cutting and grind¬ 
ing machine which breaks up the food into small par¬ 
ticles. Small glands, beneath and behind the lower 
jaw, pour out a digestive juice known as the saliva. 

Saliva acts upon the starches, changing them into 
sugars. Chewing the food thoroughly gives an oppor¬ 
tunity for it to become well mixed with the saliva so that 
the starches can be taken apart as completely as possible. 
The final work in digesting carbohydrates is done in the 
intestine. Thorough chewing also softens and moistens 


WORKSHOPS OF THE BODY 


105 



all the food for swallowing and prepares it for the later 
processes of digestion. 

From the mouth the food travels down a passage¬ 
way or tube to the next workshop, the stomach. The 






















106 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

food does not merely slide down; it is helped along by 
the contraction of rings of muscle in the wall of the 
tube. Have you sometimes felt this rhythmic contrac¬ 
tion when you have accidentally swallowed a large, hard 
piece of food? 

The work of the stomach. —The stomach is a 
pouch which not only carries on a part of the work of 
digestion, but also serves as a place for the immediate 
storage of a meal. The food enters at the large end of 
the pouch. The stomach is smaller at the opposite 
end where it joins the small intestine. At this end 
of the pouch there is a strong circular muscle which 
guards the exit from the stomach so that no food can 
pass out until it has been prepared to enter the next 
workshop. This place is called the pylorus, from the 
Greek word meaning “gate.” 

When the food first reaches the stomach, the diges¬ 
tion of starch by saliva is still going on; but this does 
not continue very long. The stomach secretes a juice 
of its own which contains an acid, and as soon as this 
mixes with the food the action of the saliva ceases. 

The digestive juice which is formed in the stomach 
(gastric juice) is really made up of several different 
substances. Its chief work is to digest and dissolve 
the proteins. Lean meat and other proteins are taken 
apart or changed into simpler substances, which are 
dissolved and later pass through the walls of the in¬ 
testine. They find their way to the blood and are car- 


WORKSHOPS OF THE BODY IO 7 

ried to the various parts of the body, where they are 
put together in different ways to make muscle and other 
tissues. 

Toward the pyloric end of the stomach the muscular 
walls contract and relax continually when food is pres¬ 
ent. Thus the food is thoroughly mixed with the gas¬ 
tric juice, and when a small portion of food has reached 
the right point of digestion, the gate opens and lets it 
into the next workshop, the small intestine. 

The small intestine. —The small intestine is the 
longest part of the digestive tract. It is twenty feet or 
more in length, coiled up in the region of the abdomen. 
There are three different workers here. The pancre¬ 
atic juice flows into the intestine from the pancreas, a 
gland which lies just below the stomach. The intes¬ 
tinal juice is poured out from the walls of the intestine 
itself. The bile comes from the liver. 

The pancreatic juice and the intestinal juice take the 
fats apart and complete the process of digestion for the 
carbohydrates and proteins. The bile is not an impor¬ 
tant worker in the process of “taking apart,” but it ap¬ 
pears to have a close relation to the absorption of fats by 
the blood. 

The table on page 108 summarizes the process of 
digestion. 

The work of the digestive juices in the intestine is 
helped by the action of the muscular walls. These 
contract and relax so that the food mass becomes thor- 



I08 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


Parts of Diges¬ 
tive Tube 

Mechanical 

Processes 

Digestive 

Fluids 

Chemical 

Change 

Mouth 

Cutting and 
Grinding 

Saliva 

Starch to Sugar 

Stomach 

Churning and 
Mixing 

Gastric Juice 

Protein to Peptone 

Small Intestine 

Mixing and Mov¬ 
ing Food 

Bile 

Pancreatic Juice 
Intestinal Juice 

Carbohydrates to 
Simple Sugar 
Protein Digestion 
Completed 

Fats Made Ready 
for Use 

Large Intestine 

Food Forced on 
—Waste Expelled 




oughly mixed with the intestinal juices and is brought 
into close contact with the absorbing surfaces of the in¬ 
testines. 

Absorption. —The lining of the small intestine is 
wonderfully planned for absorbing food. It is formed 
in little finger-shaped projections, called villi. These 
are richly supplied with tiny blood vessels, and their 
cells are especially adapted to the very delicate work of 
absorbing the various kinds of digested food substances. 
Here in the villi, these food substances are taken up 
either by the blood stream or by lymph vessels which 
empty into the blood stream. 

Elimination. —Some parts of the food cannot be 
digested. This material is passed on to the large intes¬ 
tine or colon. The large intestine begins at the lower 
right-hand side of the abdominal cavity, passes up the 
right side, crosses the body just below the stomach, and 
passes down the left side. Its chief work is to absorb 



















WORKSHOPS OF THE BODY IO 9 

the surplus water from the remaining food mass, and to 
expel the waste substance from the body. This waste 
substance is partly cellulose, a material found in the 
fibers of fruits and vegetables and in the coarse outer 
parts of grains. Coarse material is valuable in the 
digestive system, because it furnishes the bulk which 
is necessary to stimulate the large intestine to expel the 
waste from the body every day. 

Habits which aid digestion. —Understanding the 
simple facts about the parts of the digestive tract and 
the way in which the digestive process goes on will 
help you to consider in a new light the daily habits 
which are related to a good digestion. Here are some 
of the most important rules. Perhaps you can add 
others. 

Eat three regular meals every day. The workshops 
of the digestive tract do better work on regular meals 
than on irregular ones. Most experts in nutrition ad¬ 
vise the heavy meal at noon for children below high 
school age. If you have your heavy meal at night, be 
sure to have a good warm lunch at noon. 

Eat a good breakfast every morning. In the morn¬ 
ing you have been twelve hours or more without food, 
and your most vigorous work lies ahead of you. How 
can you be prepared for that work without a fresh sup¬ 
ply of fuel for your body? 

Eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly. This 
is the only way in which the workers of the mouth 
can do a good job. Here the starch should be 


no 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Have a happy mealtime. 

changed to sugar, and the food mass prepared for the 
other workshops of the digestive tract. Take small 
bites. 

Have a pleasant mealtime. Experiments with ani¬ 
mals show that the flow of digestive fluids and the 
muscular contractions of the stomach and intestine are 
hindered, or even stopped entirely, by feelings of anger 
or fright. Quarreling or arguing over unpleasant sub- 

























WORKSHOPS OF THE BODY 


III 


jects at mealtime is not only impolite but also unhealth¬ 
ful. Children sometimes spoil a meal because of bad 
manners. Sitting properly and being polite at table is 
one way of helping every one in the family to have a 
pleasant mealtime. To be always cheerful and courte¬ 
ous is one of the best tonics for the digestive system. 
It is better to avoid eating when one is hurried or ex¬ 
cited. 

Avoid eating between meals, unless you really need 
extra nourishment. The complete process of digest¬ 
ing a meal requires several hours. If you make a prac¬ 
tice of eating between meals, your digestive tract can¬ 
not have the proper amount of time for rest. You may 
need extra food, if you are thin, if you do not gain well, 
or if you have been ill. If you do lunch between meals, 
choose simple foods which will neither put a heavy 
strain upon your digestive tract nor spoil your appetite 
for regular meals. Milk, fruit, and bread and butter 
are the best between-meal foods. 

Eat sweets only in small amounts and at the end of 
meals. Sweets spoil the appetite for other foods and 
do not contain the substances which the body needs for 
growth. 

Avoid fried foods . When foods are fried, particles 
of carbohydrate or protein become encased in fat. 
Such particles are not easily digested because the juices 
in the mouth and stomach cannot dissolve the fat to get 
at them. 

Have some vigorous exercise every day. Exercise 


112 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

shakes up the digestive tract and helps to bring about 
a regular elimination of waste from the body. 

Avoid alcohol and tobacco. Tobacco usually affects 
the appetite of a growing boy. Alcohol is injurious to 
the digestive tract. 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Chew a piece of bread or cracker (starchy food) and see 
how sweet it becomes in the mouth as the saliva turns the 
starch into sugar. 

2. Examine a piece of tripe, which is the carefully prepared 
wall of the cow’s stomach. Notice the layers of muscle 
and the “honeycomb” surface on the inside. 

3. Measure off twenty feet of string and see how far it 
reaches across the room. This gives you an idea of the 
length of the small intestine. 

4. Use health-habit records to check up your habits related 
to digestion. 

5. Use your influence in school to have only the right foods 
sold for lunch at noontime. 

6. Plan several good menus for breakfast. Try to get every 
one in your class to eat a good breakfast every morning. 


XI 


KEEPING THE WORKSHOPS CLEAN 

The workshops of the digestive system are truly won¬ 
derful in their ability to change the nature of food so 
that it can be absorbed by the blood stream. The food 
in the digestive tract does not come in contact with the 
body proper at all. It touches only the lining of the 
digestive system which you may think of as a kind of 
“inner skin,” especially fitted to take from the food those 
substances which the body needs. This “inner skin” 
must be kept clean and healthy if it is to do its work 
properly. 

Bacteria in the digestive tract. —It is important 
that only clean and wholesome food shall be taken into 
the digestive tract. You remember that harmless bac¬ 
teria live in the mouth continually and in large numbers. 
They do not become extremely numerous in the stomach 
because of the acidity of the gastric juice. In the in¬ 
testines, however, they find ideal conditions for growth. 
There is warmth, darkness, moisture, and a good sup¬ 
ply of food. 

Most of the bacteria which grow in the intestine are 
harmless, but probably none of them are really useful. 
Dr. Metchnikofif long ago put forth the idea that the 
milk-souring bacillus is the least undesirable and that 
113 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


114 



it reduces the number of the other bacteria. For this 
reason he advocated the drinking of sour milk. 

Avoiding constipation.— Sometimes the food waste 
moves too slowly through the large intestine. This 
condition is called constipation. Bacteria act upon the 
contents of the intestine and produce undesirable sub¬ 
stances. These substances, and the failure of the food 
waste to move on promptly, make one feel tired and ner¬ 
vous, or give one a headache. Indigestion and consti¬ 
pation often show in the complexion, causing “muddy” 
skin or pimples. It is essential, of course, to keep the 
outer skin clean, but surely the beauty and health of the 
outer skin reflect in no small measure the health and 
cleanliness of the “inner skin.” 

You can avoid constipation if you choose the right 
foods and eat properly. You need to have a proper 
amount of wholesome food, including plenty of fruits 







KEEPING THE WORKSHOPS CLEAN 


115 



Do you wash your hands before meals ? 


and vegetables whose fibers furnish “scrub brushes” 
to keep the intestine clean. 

Drink large amounts of water every day, for water 
cleanses the “inner skin” as well as the outer skin. 
Cheerfulness and exercise keep the digestive tract ready 
to do its work. Thorough chewing helps digestion. 
If you follow these simple health habits, your digestion 
will usually take care of itself. 

Typhoid fever. —In addition to the ordinary bac¬ 
teria there are a few really harmful ones which can 
live in the intestines—poisonous plants which grow 
among the others in the digestive tract as poison ivy 













n6 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


grows among the trees and grasses. One of these is 
the typhoid fever bacillus. 

When a few of these plants get into the intestine 
they find a favorable place for growth, increase rapidly, 
and produce poisons. The. body absorbs some of the 
bacterial poisons, and a feeling of illness results. There 
is a battle between the man and the microbe. The 
typhoid germ makes a poison for man, and man straight¬ 
way begins to make a substance which will kill the 
typhoid germ. Usually the man wins out, driving all 
the germs out of his body. Some of the anti-typhoid 
substances which he has manufactured for the body’s 
defense remain afterward, and they protect him against 
having the disease again. When one is vaccinated 
against typhoid fever, some dead bacilli are injected un- ' 
der the skin, and the body goes through the same sort 
of process but with only slight discomfort. A person 
who has been vaccinated against typhoid will not catch 
the disease. 

The typhoid fever bacilli, like all the other bacteria, j 
are so small that they cannot be seen except with the 
highest powers of the microscope. When a person has 
the disease, the germs are thrown off from the body in 
the body wastes. If a few of these get into water 
or food and are swallowed by a well person, he comes 
down with the disease. In this way typhoid fever is 
spread. 

Sometimes in the past a whole city has been in dan¬ 
ger from typhoid fever because a public supply of 




KEEPING THE WORKSHOPS CLEAN 117 

drinking water became infected by sewage which con¬ 
tained typhoid germs. Occasionally these bacteria get 
into milk from some careless person who has the disease. 
Flies may spread the typhoid bacilli. They walk about 
in the most filthy places. If they chance to pick up 
typhoid bacilli on their feet or legs, they are likely to 
leave them wherever they alight. 

If you live in a town or city which has running water, 
your city government protects the purity of the water 
supply. If you have your own well in the country, it 
should be protected from dirt, and the toilet should be 
located so that no harmful substances may drain into 
the well. When on a vacation or camping, do not use 
water unless you have a good reason to believe that it is 
pure; that is, free from harmful bacteria. Water can 
be made safe for drinking by boiling for fifteen or 
twenty minutes. When camping be careful in the dis¬ 
posal of your body wastes, both for your own protec¬ 
tion and for the sake of others. 

Dysentery and cholera are other diseases of the di¬ 
gestive tract which are caused by harmful germs, and 
which may be spread from one person to another like 
typhoid. These diseases used to be very common, but 
now they are rare. 

Rules for the cleanliness of the “inner skin.”— 

There are two things, then, for you to consider in main¬ 
taining the health and cleanliness of the inner skin. 
First, take good care of your digestion so that the food 
will move along promptly. Second, be careful to avoid 


Il8 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

filth of all kinds and to maintain the habits of cleanliness 
which will protect you from the few dangerous bac- 
teria. 

Here are some of the habits which are related espe¬ 
cially to the cleanliness of the digestive tract. 

Wash your hands with soap and warm water before 
meals and after going to the toilet. In this way you 
avoid passing harmful bacteria from the hands to the 
mouth. 

Eat only clean food. Food which is exposed to dust 
and flies, or handled by dirty hands, is not clean. All 
foods which are ready to be eaten without further wash¬ 
ing or cooking should always be kept covered. 

Eat plenty of fruits , vegetables , and whole grains. 
These supply the bulk which is necessary to keep the 
food mass moving along through the intestines. This 
bulk also stimulates the daily elimination of waste. 
Coarse foods furnish the “scrub brushes” of the diges¬ 
tive tract. 

Drink at least four glasses of water between meals 
every day. This helps to keep the digestive tract clean. 
It is well to drink the first glass before breakfast. 
Drinking water at meals is not harmful if you make a 
practice of never drinking when there is food in your 
mouth. Using water to wash down and soften the 
food is harmful, because water cannot take the place 
of saliva in the digestion of starch. Ice water may be 
injurious, if used in too large amounts, because it cools 
the stomach too much. Drink from an individual cup, 


KEEPING THE WORKSHOPS CLEAN 119 

not a common cup. When using a drinking fountain, 
do not touch it with your lips. 

Have a regular bowel movement every day. Go to 
the bathroom at a regular time, preferably after break¬ 
fast. The removal of body wastes is more important 
than the removal of ashes from a furnace. 

Try to avoid taking physic. A laxative may be neces¬ 
sary occasionally when you are ill. If you get the habit 
of taking it often, however, it will interfere with the 
natural activity of the bowels. Chew your food thor¬ 
oughly. Use nature’s physics—fruits, vegetables, 
whole grains, water, and exercise. Have a regular 
time for elimination. 

Questions for Discussion 

1. What is constipation? 

2. How is it avoided ? 

3. What is the cause of typhoid fever? 

4. How is the disease spread ? 

5. How does cleanliness help you to avoid or “miss” typhoid 
fever? 

6. What is the value of vaccination against typhoid fever? 

7. What are the health rules which relate to the cleanliness of 
the “inner skin” ? 


XII 


CLEANLINESS OF THE OUTER SKIN 

Pinch the skin on the back of your hand and see how 
the small loose folds can be drawn away from the muscle 
and bone beneath. If you could see a section of this 
loose, thick skin under the microscope, you would find 
that it has two parts. 

Epidermis.—The outer part, or epidermis, consists 
of many layers. The deepest layer is made of living 
cells which are continually growing and dividing cross¬ 
wise. The older cells are constantly being pushed off 
toward the outside, forming the outer layers of the 
epidermis. Here the cells become flattened and are no 
longer alive. 

This arrangement of the skin into layers is shown 
in the formation of a blister, which results from the 
separation of the outer layers of the epidermis from 
the inner layers, the space between being filled with 
clear fluid from the blood. The epidermis gives pro¬ 
tection to the “true skin” underneath. The hair and 
nails are outgrowths of the skin. Although they grow 
from living cells, the outer ends are dead, like the outer 
layers of the epidermis itself. 

The color in the skin comes from pigment which 
lies in the deep layers of the epidermis. In people of 


120 


CLEANLINESS OF THE OUTER SKIN 


121 



Finger tip magnified to show pores 

Reproduced from Popenoe and Johnson’s Applied Eugenics. By permis¬ 
sion of the Macmillan Company, publishers. 






122 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

fair skin the pigment is small in amount; in those of 
dark skin it is more abundant. Freckles are caused by 
an irregular scattering of red pigment. 

Dermis. —The dermis, or lower layer, is made up 
of a meshwork of connective tissue fibers, among which 
are found blood vessels, nerves, and groups of fat cells. 
Sweat glands, hair follicles, and oil glands belong to the 
epidermis, but they extend down into the dermis. 

Pores. —Look at the skin on the palm of your hand, 
and you will find that it shows a series of fine lines. If 
you use a magnifying glass when the skin is perfectly 
clean, you can see on the sides of these lines very small 
openings called pores. These are the openings of the 
sweat glands, whose work is to pour out perspiration 
upon the skin. The evaporation of perspiration keeps 
the body cool. Perspiration or sweat contains some 
salty waste substances from the body. When the water 
evaporates, these substances are left as dirt on the skin. 

Hair. —Examine the skin on the top of the forearm 
and notice that it is covered with tiny hairs. Hair is 
a typical part of skin structure. It grows most abun¬ 
dantly, of course, on the scalp. When the scalp is in 
good health, the hair looks smooth and glossy. This is 
due to the presence of oil from the little oil glands which 
grow at the root of the hair. The oily substance pro¬ 
duced in these glands is poured out alongside the hair 
upon the skin, and it keeps the hair from becoming dry 
and brittle. It forms a part of the dirt which accumu¬ 
lates on the skin. 


CLEANLINESS OF THE OUTER SKIN I23 

Circulation in 
the skin. —You 

have seen how the 
blood increases in e p i- . 

dermis 

the skin when a \ 

Papilla_ 

person blushes. 

On the other 
hand, when one is 
frightened, the 

. . . Dermis 

skm may become 
very pale. 

There are tiny Sd 
blood vessels to be 
found in the inner Blood 

Tube 

part of the skin. Vertical section of the skin 

The walls of these 

blood vessels contain muscles which can relax to make 
them larger, or contract to make them smaller. These 
muscles are controlled by a part of the nervous system, 
which increases or decreases the flow of blood in the 
skin automatically. When the skin is warmed, the 
blood vessels relax; when it is cooled, they contract. 

Sense of touch. —What is the relation of the skin 
to the sense of touch ? You feel through the skin, just 
as you see through the eyes and hear through the ears. 
How does this take place? Some of the nerves which 
come from the brain and spinal cord divide and sub¬ 
divide into smaller branches until the tips of single nerve 
fibers end in the skin. Some of these nerve endings are 












124 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

in the “touch corpuscles” which are pushed up against 
the epidermis in areas called papilla, from which sen¬ 
sations of touch are sent to the brain. Other nerve 
endings pick up sensations of temperature or pain. 

Fat cells. —Another element in the skin is the fat 
cell. You remember that the body has the ability to 
store up fat as a reserve supply of energy. Some fat 
is stored inside the body and some is stored in the dermis. 
If too much fat is deposited, the skin becomes loose and 
flabby. Just the right amount, however, gives smooth¬ 
ness and softness of line. It makes one better looking. 
This layer of fat also helps the body to save its heat 
supply. It is like an extra layer of clothing. 

The skin is a living tissue. It regulates body heat, 
protects the structures underneath, and keeps us in con¬ 
tact with the outer world through the sense of touch. 

A clean skin. —The most important thing for you 
to do in caring for the skin is to keep it clean. Dirt 
accumulates on the skin from the inside and from the 
outside. That from the outside may be soil, grease, 
paint, or just ordinary dust from the air. It is sure 
to be unsightly and it may have disagreeable odors. 
The bacteria contained in dirt are often dangerous 
from the standpoint of health. On the dirty skin they 
find a moist, warm place where they can keep alive. 
They die rather quickly on clean dry skin. 

Most bacteria are harmless, as you know, but some 
produce boils or pimples. They grow down into the 
skin at the opening of a gland or around a hair shaft, 


CLEANLINESS OF THE OUTER SKIN 125 

and produce an irritation with itching and smarting. 
The spread of catching diseases of the skin is prevented 
by personal cleanliness and by care in using one’s own 
washcloths and towels. 

Bacteria growing on the skin increase the undesir¬ 
able odors of the waste substances poured out by the 
glands. A skin which is thoroughly clean has a fresh, 
pleasant smell, as you can notice from your own hands 
when they have been thoroughly washed with soap and 
warm water. A skin which is not kept clean develops 
a strong, sour, sweaty odor which is extremely unpleas¬ 
ant for other people. 

In order to keep your skin really clean you need at 
least two warm baths a week, for only warm water and 
soap can remove oily deposits. Cold water cannot dis¬ 
solve oily substances. 

Clothing needs to be kept clean, too. Dirt from the 
skin soils the clothing so that it looks dirty and smells 
dirty. Stockings and underwear need particular atten¬ 
tion. Underclothes should be removed at night and 
spread out on a chair or rack in the fresh air of your 
bedroom. Most of us cannot have a complete change 
of clothing every day. The next best thing is to air 
the clothing every night. Have clean underwear and 
stockings as often as you can. Changes need to be 
made more frequently in warm weather than in cold 
weather. Heavy clothing should be removed indoors 
so as to give proper ventilation to the skin. 

Some parts of the body require special care as to 


126 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Take off heavy clothing indoors. 


cleanliness. One perspires freely under the arms be¬ 
cause cool air cannot reach this space. Disagreeable 
odors develop here unless one is particularly careful. 
The feet perspire, too, and if rubbers are not removed 
in the house, the amount of perspiration is increased. 
This not only produces unpleasant odor but it makes 
the skin tender. You know that wearing rubbers in 
the house is likely to cause chilblains in winter. The 











































CLEANLINESS OF THE OUTER SKIN 


127 



Have you a just pride in your personal appearance? 


feet sweat indoors, and when you go out in the cold air 
they become easily chilled. 

The care of the hair and scalp. —The skin of the 
scalp also needs attention. Most girls like to have a 
shampoo at least once in two weeks. Boys can easily 
wash their hair once a week or oftener. When you 
shampoo your hair, give your scalp a good massage. 
This helps to increase the flow of blood in the scalp and 










































128 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Will your finger nails stand inspection? 


stimulates the oil glands, thus preventing the hair from 
becoming dry. Hair which is kept clean, combed regu¬ 
larly, and arranged neatly every day is likely to be glossy 
and attractive in appearance. Do not forget to keep 
the comb and brush clean, too. 

After washing the head, dry your hair thoroughly 
either in the warm sunshine or in a warm room. If you 
go into cold air before the scalp is dry, the skin becomes 
chilled, and the scalp may even become sore and tender 
to the touch, like a lame muscle. Driving the blood 
away from the scalp in this way increases the conges- 




CLEANLINESS OF THE OUTER SKIN I29 

tion of blood in the nose and throat so that one is likely 
to catch cold. 

Clean hands.—Your hands come in contact with 
dirt more than any other part of the body, and for 
this reason they require more frequent washing. Be¬ 
cause you use them for handling food, it is especially 
important to wash them thoroughly before eating, so 
that you will avoid carrying harmful bacteria into the 
mouth. Wash your hands after going to the toilet. 
Always rinse and dry the hands thoroughly to avoid 
chapping. 

It is easy for dirt to accumulate under the nails. 
The boy or girl who wants to be really clean must take 
good care of them. Biting the nails is a very bad habit 
from the standpoint of cleanliness, because pieces of 
sharp nail, with dirt and bacteria attached, are taken 
into the mouth and may be passed on to the throat, 
where they scratch or puncture the soft tissues. Thus 
the throat may become infected with harmful bacteria. 

There are other reasons, too, why children should 
not bite their nails. It makes the nails unsightly and 
keeps them so rough that cleanliness is almost impos¬ 
sible. It spoils the shape of the fingers, making them 
stubby. Nature meant finger tips to be tapering and 
sensitive. You cannot afford to spoil yours, for the 
hands you have now must serve you throughout life. 

People are likely to judge you by the appearance of 
your hands. One likes to see clean nails, evenly filed, 
with smooth cuticle and fingers naturally shaped. The 


I30 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

appearance of your hands is as much a part of your 
individuality as the appearance of your face and figure. 
Do your hands add to your attractiveness or detract 
from it? 

The complexion.—The skin of the face needs 
special attention, too, because it is exposed to dust con¬ 
stantly and to all kiftds of weather conditions. It 
should be thoroughly cleansed every day with warm 
water and a good soap. It is important to find a pure 
soap which seems to suit your skin one which cleanses 
the skin, making it look clear and clean, without irri¬ 
tating it or making it rough. 

After being washed with soap and warm water the 
face should be well rinsed and given a final dash of cold 
water. Many people prefer to do the soap-and-warm- 
water washing before going to bed at night, and then 
use only cold water in the morning. Soap and warm 
water have a “drying” effect upon the skin because they 
remove the natural oil. Cold water is not particularly 
drying, and it invigorates the skin by stimulating the 
circulation. 

The market is crowded today with countless aids to 
beauty. There is, of course, no beautifier which can 
produce the natural beauty of a healthy, well-cared-for 
skin. Good powders and cold creams do not injure 
the skin, though they are not necessary. Many of the 
much-advertised beauty aids, however, are really in¬ 
jurious to the skin. It is unfortunate that some girls, 
in their desire to add to their attractiveness, make them- 


CLEANLINESS OF THE OUTER SKIN I3I 

selves look as though they were wearing “false faces.” 
Indeed, by their display of such bad taste, they lose the 
natural beauty and charm which they might otherwise 
have. 

Cold baths.—The use of cold water on the skin is 
important, not only on the face but all over the 
body. A cold bath is partly for the purpose of cleanli¬ 
ness, but its chief value is to keep the skin healthy by 
making it accustomed to sudden changes in tempera¬ 
ture. One might call it a method of “training” the 
skin. 

You have seen how the amount of blood in the skin 
changes under different conditions. When a person 
goes outdoors in very cold weather, the skin becomes 
pale for an instant, but in a few minutes it becomes 
more ruddy than it was before. Every one knows that 
boys and girls who play outdoors in cold weather get 
rosy cheeks. This is because the body responds to the 
cooling of the skin by sending plenty of blood to keep it 
warm. 

Cold water drives the blood away from the skin for a 
moment. Then the blood comes back in greater quan¬ 
tity than before, giving a warm glow which is very 
pleasant. It is better to start cold baths in the summer; 
then you can continue them all through the winter. 
You may have heard that cold baths “harden the skin” 
so that one does not catch cold. The skin of the person 
who takes cold baths does not actually become harder, 
but it becomes trained to adjust itself to sudden tempera- 


132 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

ture changes. This helps one to avoid chills and makes 
him less likely to catch cold. 

Vigorous boys and girls come to enjoy the cold bath 
and find it stimulating. A person who is chilled by a 
cold bath and whose skin does not react with a warm 
glow would better substitute a dash of cold water on the 
face, throat, and chest, or a vigorous rub with a rough 
towel every morning. 

Injuries.—The skin is subject to constant small in¬ 
juries. Try to avoid needless cuts, scratches, burns, 
and wounds. The skin protects the inner parts of the 
body. When bacteria enter a wound, they cause seri¬ 
ous trouble. In a slight skin injury an immediate ap¬ 
plication of iodine will kill the bacteria which may be 
present. Deep wounds ought to be dressed by a phy¬ 
sician. 

A really beautiful skin is built from the inside out. 
No matter how careful a girl is in regard to outer 
cleanliness, she cannot hope to keep a lovely skin unless 
she also lives up to the health rules in regard to food, 
sleep, and exercise. 

Examine your own skin with a critical eye. If it is 
clear, clean, and glowing with health, try to keep it 
always as attractive as it is now. If it does not reach 
the standard you want, what can you do to improve it? 

Questions to Answer 

1. What are the two parts of the skin? 

2 . What is the outer layer like ? 

3. What structures are found in the inner layer of the skin ? 


CLEANLINESS OF THE OUTER SKIN I33 

4. What is the special value of warm water and soap in 
cleansing the skin ? 

5. Why do cold baths help to keep one from catching cold ? 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Organize inspections if you have not done so already. 

2. Help to train your younger brothers and sisters at home 
in habits of cleanliness. 

3. Study the motion picture “The Skin” (Eastman Teaching 
Films) if it is available. 


XIII 


BREATHING STRUCTURES AND COMMON 
COLD 

Breathing goes on so naturally and unconsciously 
that you think little about it, except when you are “out 
of breath” from hard playing. When you are exercis¬ 
ing vigorously, you cannot help breathing faster and 
more deeply than when you are quiet. The usual rate 
of breathing is so constant in health that doctors use 
respiration as one of the signs by which they judge a 
patient’s condition. 

The use of oxygen.—A fire must have air in order 
to burn. If you fan it, it burns faster; if you keep 
the air away, you smother the fire and it goes out. 
This is because the process of burning uses up oxygen 
from the air. The body, too, needs oxygen in burning 
the fuel foods. 

In order to take oxygen from the air, nature has 
developed special breathing structures. The whole air 
goes into the lungs; from it the blood takes out some 
of the oxygen and returns the waste gas, carbon dioxide. 

Preparing the air for the lungs.—The air is 
warmed, moistened, and freed from dust by passing 
through the nose and throat. The upper parts of the 
nasal passages are subdivided, and open into small cavi- 
134 


COMMON COLD 


135 



ties, called sinuses. In this way, nature has provided 
a much greater surface inside the nose than would be 
thought possible, judging from the size of the nos¬ 
trils. 

The walls of the nasal passages are covered with 
mucous membrane, which is moist and richly supplied 
with blood vessels. The cells of this membrane have 



















136 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

tiny living processes, called cilia, which form a sort of 
“living velvet.” The cilia are so small that they cannot 
be seen with the naked eye, but they are capable of a 
definite movement, which consists of a strong stroke in 
one direction, and a weaker one in return, somewhat 
like the rowing of a boat. The result is that anything 
lying upon the ciliated surface is moved along in one 
direction. You can easily see the importance of this 
ciliary motion in the nose. Dust and bacteria are 
caught and moved along with the mucus either toward 
the nostrils or toward the throat. 

It is important to breathe through the nose so that 
the air may be warmed, moistened, and cleaned before 
entering the lungs. If you cannot breathe properly, 
it may be because you have some obstruction in the nose 
which ought to be removed. 

The air passages of the throat and chest. —From 
the mouth or nose, the air passes through the throat, 
or pharynx , into the air passages leading to the lungs. 
The upper part of the air tube is known as the larynx. 
This is the voice box, which contains the vocal cords. 
These vibrate like violin strings when we speak or sing. 
An irritation of the larynx sometimes causes hoarseness 
or loss of the voice. 

Below the larynx is the trachea or windpipe. At 
its lower end it forks into two branches, called the 
bronchi. One bronchus leads to the right lobes of the 
lung and the other to the left lobes. Both the trachea 
and the bronchi have firm walls with little rings of 


COMMON COLD 


137 

cartilage which keep the tubes open. The bronchi 
subdivide into smaller tubes until they end in the little 
air sacs of the lungs. All these air tubes are lined 
with ciliated membranes, which tend to move dust and 
other irritating substances up toward the throat. 

At the top of the air tube, above the larynx, there 
is a flap of tissue called the epiglottis. This opens to 
let the air in, or out, as you breathe and talk; it closes 
when you swallow food. Occasionally, if you laugh 
when you have food in your mouth, or try to talk and 
eat at the same time, your epiglottis does not work 
quickly, and you “get choked’" by drawing food into the 
trachea. It is possible for this to happen because the 
paths of food and air cross in the throat. 

The lungs and their work.—If you have ever 
watched the cleaning of a fowl, perhaps you have seen 
how light and spongy the lungs are in appearance. In 
structure they are somewhat like many clusters of 
grapes all coming from a common stem. The trachea 
is the main stem; the bronchi and its branches are the 
intermediate stems; and the individual air chambers 
represent the grapes. They are hollow, thin-walled 
pockets filled with air and supplied with an elaborate 
system of tiny blood vessels or capillaries. 

As the blood flows through the capillaries in the lungs, 
the attraction of the red blood corpuscles for oxygen 
is so strong that the oxygen makes its way to the cor¬ 
puscles, through the thin walls of the air sacs and the 
capillaries. At the same time the blood unloads most 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


138 

of the carbon dioxide, which returns to the air in the 
lungs and is exhaled. 

Breathing renews the air in these little air sacs where 
the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. 
Filling the lungs with air is somewhat like the process 
of blowing up water-wings. The wings are crumpled 
and crushed as you begin to blow. If you put in only 
a little air, the outer edges will still remain crushed; 
but if you fill them tightly, every crumpled spot is blown 
out smooth. 

In ordinary breathing your lungs are not filled to their 
full capacity. When you exercise vigorously, your 
muscles call for a greater exchange of oxygen and car¬ 
bon dioxide, so that you breathe more rapidly and with 
greater expansion of the chest. Thus, boys and girls 
who play vigorously every day develop good lungs. 

Catching cold.—It is easy for bacteria to enter the 
air passages of the nose or throat, where they find con¬ 
ditions favorable for growth. Here it is warm, dark, 
and moist, and the body fluids furnish food. 

It is important to keep the nasal passages clean. You 
should make a practice of carrying a clean handkerchief. 
A thorough cleansing upon retiring and upon getting 
up in the morning will keep the nostrils free from dust. 
Do not use too much force in blowing the nose, as this 
may injure the membranes or force fluid and bacteria 
from the nose or throat into the Eustachian tube, which 
runs from the back of the nasal passages to the middle 


ear. 


COMMON COLD 


139 


Some of the germs which cause common cold may 
live in the air passages even when one is well. More¬ 
over, there are so many different kinds, and they are 
so widely spread from the noses and throats of people 
having colds, that it is almost impossible for one to 
escape them entirely. They find their way into the 
respiratory tract, and await a chance to grow. When 
you are in a hot room, the membranes of the nose 
and throat are moist and red because of the large 
amount of blood flowing through them. Then, if 
you become chilled later, the blood is driven away 
from the membranes by the cold air. The membranes 
are still moist, however, and there the bacteria grow 
rapidly. 

If you keep the body warm by exercise when you are 
outdoors in winter, you are not likely to catch cold. 
Wet clothing or wet shoes and stockings should always 
be removed as soon as possible. Protect yourself with 
warm wraps when you are overheated from vigorous 
exercise. 

How do you feel when you have a cold? You may 
say that your “head is stuffed up,” that your “nose 
runs,” and that your “eyes water.” Perhaps the throat 
is sore, too. If the cold is at all severe, the effect of the 
irritation in the nose and throat may extend to the whole 
body. There is slight fever, or headache, with a feel¬ 
ing of general fatigue and illness. Under such condi¬ 
tions an unusual supply of blood has been rushed to the 
mucous membranes of the nose and throat in an effort 


140 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



to overcome the bacteria. A real battle is going on, and 
its heat is felt even in distant parts of the body. 

Avoiding colds.—How can you avoid catching cold ? 
Keep yourself in good health, so that your body can re¬ 
sist vigorously the bacteria which cause colds. It has 
been proved that poor food, lack of sleep, and extreme 
fatigue make people more likely to catch cold. Physical 
defects, such as enlarged tonsils, diseased adenoids, and 
nasal obstructions, also favor colds. 

















COMMON COLD 


141 

Keep up the tone of your skin and mucous mem¬ 
branes by a good circulation. The circulation may be 
trained to quick response by the use of cold water every 
morning. The bath should be very brief, preferably 
with a shower, followed by a brisk rubbing with a 
rough towel, which helps to bring the blood back to 
the skin. 

Some people who are frail and thin cannot afford 
to lose the amount of heat or energy which is taken 
from the body by a cold shower. These people may, 
however, use water which is cool, not really cold. If 
you cannot have a cold shower bath every morning, use 
cold water on the face, throat, and chest, or give the 
body a brisk rub with a rough towel without using any 
water. If you have plenty of outdoor play every day, 
and are not afraid of cold water and cold weather, you 
should have a circulation which is vigorous enough to 
save you from catching cold through an occasional 
change of temperature. 

Live in well-ventilated rooms and have your windows 
open at night. Overheated rooms make one so sensi¬ 
tive to cold that the circulatory system cannot offset a 
sudden change in temperature. Rooms should be kept 
at a temperature of 68° to 70 0 Fahrenheit with moder¬ 
ate air movement. Spend part of every day in outdoor 
recreation, if possible, and avoid overcrowded and 
poorly ventilated places. 

Be sensible about your clothing in cold weather. * 
Take off coats, sweaters, and heavy wraps when you 


142 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Which boy is more likely to catch cold? 


come indoors and put them on when you go out. If 
you keep them on all the time, you are too warm indoors 
and chilly outdoors. Take off rubbers and rubber 
boots in the house. When they are not taken off, the 
feet become wet with perspiration, and it is easy to 
catch cold. 

Try to avoid infection. Keep away from people who 
have colds, and do not let any one sneeze or cough in 
your face. 

Breathe through your nose, not through your mouth. 
The little hairs in the nostrils, and the ciliated surfaces 
of the nasal passages, are able to clean the air in a way 
which the mouth cannot do. 

Keep your hands away from your nose and mouth 
so that you may not needlessly infect yourself with 









COMMON COLD 


143 


bacteria which you have picked up in the constant 
handling of various objects. Avoid careless habits of 
putting pencils, pens, or money into your mouth. 

Eat food which is clean, and wash your hands be¬ 
fore eating. Exchanging bites of candy or fruit may 
mean exchanging bacteria, too. Drinking from a com¬ 
mon drinking cup is another way in which bacteria are 
taken into the mouth. It is equally dangerous to drink 
from a bubbler which throws a stream so low that the 
mouth is put directly on the bubbler itself. 

The bacteria of common cold are also passed about 
by the careless exchange of towels or handkerchiefs. 
If you are at all fastidious, the idea of exchanging such 
personal articles is unpleasant to you. If you are well 
informed in matters of scientific cleanliness, you know 
that such an exchange is dangerous. 

Breaking up a cold.—If you feel yourself “coming 
down” with a cold, try to break it up in the very early 
stages. A hot tub bath helps to relieve the congestion 
by drawing the blood to the skin. If a tub bath is 
impossible, perhaps you can substitute a hot foot bath. 
In either case, be careful not to get chilled afterward. 
Have a hot lemonade or ginger tea, if you can, and get 
to bed promptly, covering yourself with plenty of bed¬ 
ding. A long night in sleep will give the cells of your 
body the best possible chance to overcome the bacteria. 
Drinking large amounts of water is an aid. A physic 
may help by cleaning out the digestive tract, and getting 
rid of body waste. If you are very ill, you will call a 


H 4 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



J.C. 


Cover every cough and sneeze. 

doctor, but at the first signs of a cold you want to do all 
you can to overcome it. 

Taking care of a cold.—The next question is how 
to take care of a cold. If you cannot break it up in 
the way just described, you should stay in bed for a 
day or two. If you neglect to give your body favor¬ 
able conditions for the fight, the attack of the bacteria 
is likely to be strengthened until you are quite ill. Some 




COMMON COLD 145 

other disease may follow the cold if you do not take 
good care of yourself. 

When you have a cold, you owe it to others to give 
them the same protection which you would like them 
to give you. Your handkerchiefs and towels should 
be kept away from personal articles belonging to other 
members of the family. Wash them separately, boil¬ 
ing them and drying them in the sunlight. Cover your 
mouth and nose with your handkerchief whenever you 
sneeze or cough, for the bacteria of your cold are car¬ 
ried in the droplets from your nose and throat. Some 
schools do not permit children to be present when they 
have colds. Perhaps some day people will regard colds 
as they do other catching diseases, and put an end to 
them. 

Questions for Discussion 

1. What is breathing? 

2. How does the body use oxygen? 

3. What is the use of the ciliated surface in the air passages 
of the nose and throat? 

4. Why should we breathe through the nose ? 

5. What should one do to take care of the nasal passages ? 

6. What is the value of the deep breathing which comes with 
exercise ? 

7. What causes one to “catch cold” ? 

8. What are the health habits which keep us from catching 
cold? 

What are the simple things one can do to take care of 
himself when he first realizes that he is coming down with 
a cold ? 


9- 


XIV 


CONQUERING TUBERCULOSIS 

In the old days when knights rode forth on errands 
of helpfulness, and bold robbers prowled about the 
country, seeking fortunes and not caring whom they 
might destroy, there was little or no protection by law 
and police. “Let him save himself who can” might 
have been the motto. People who owned large estates 
with beautiful castles had to be able to defend them 
against any attack. They usually did this in two ways. 
First, they surrounded the castle with strong walls and 
a wide ditch. Second, they kept at the castle a force of 
men strong enough to withstand any attack which was 
likely to come. Thus, they did all they could to keep 
the enemy from ever entering their property, and they 
were prepared to lock him up in a dungeon if, by some 
trick, he succeeded in making entrance. 

By a similar sort of fight we are conquering tuber¬ 
culosis, a widespread disease, which is an old enemy of 
mankind. The tubercle bacillus has difficulty in enter¬ 
ing the human body when protection is provided by 
habits of cleanliness in the individual, the home, and 
the community. Bacteria are so small and so easily 
spread, however, that this line of defense alone is not 
sufficient. Our chief protection comes from the ability 

146 


CONQUERING TUBERCULOSIS I47 

of the body cells to overcome the enemy who has been 
able to make an entrance. In the fight with the tuber¬ 
culosis germ, vigorous health may be counted upon to 
win. 

How the body imprisons the tubercle bacillus.— 

When the tubercle bacillus gets into the body, it usually 
chooses to live in the delicate tissues of the lungs. It 
locates itself in one of the terminal air sacs. Here the 
germ multiplies and produces a mild sort of poison. 
Immediately the warning goes out, and the body sets 
up a fight. The white cells of the blood rush to the 
spot, like the sturdy soldiers that they are. They sur¬ 
round the troublesome invader, the tubercle bacillus, 
and call to their aid the cells of the connective tissue. 
These cells build a tight wall about the bacilli and im¬ 
prison them. This little ball-like prison, which the 
connective tissue cells have made, is called a tubercle . 
Hence the names tubercle bacillus and tuberculosis. 

People who are in good health do not need to worry 
about contracting tuberculosis, because their bodies are 
able to carry on the “walling off” process so quickly. 
A few bacilli may have come to many of us without do¬ 
ing us injury. The cells of the body have imprisoned 
them without our knowing anything about it. 

The importance of health habits.—Good health 
habits enable the body to protect itself. You know 
that when people do not have the right kind of food, 
or enough of it, they become thin. Moreover, the cells 
of the body are not nourished as they should be, and 


IZ j.8 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

they lack the ability to respond quickly to a call for 
help. You do not find it easy to do a heavy piece of 
work or play a vigorous game when you are faint 
from lack of food. Neither can the body cells rally 
to your defense when they are poorly nourished. An 
example of this has been seen in some of the countries 
of Europe where children were so poorly fed during 
the war. In those countries there was a marked in¬ 
crease in the amount of tuberculosis. 

A proper amount of sleep and rest is as important 
as proper food. When the body becomes fatigued 
from overwork or from lack of sleep and rest, the gen¬ 
eral health is affected. Here again the vitality of the 
body cells is lowered. They are not fit for vigorous ac¬ 
tivity any more than you are fit for active work and play 
when you are very tired. 

Fresh outdoor air and sunshine appear to be very 
closely related to the fight of the body against tuber¬ 
culosis. Dr. Edward Trudeau performed experiments 
with rabbits, which showed this relation in a very inter¬ 
esting way. He inoculated certain rabbits with the 
tubercle bacilli and kept them in a dark, damp place 
without sunlight and fresh air. Other rabbits were 
inoculated in the same way and allowed to run loose in 
the open. Those shut in the dark came down with tu¬ 
berculosis, while those living in the open recovered. 
When people learn to open their windows at night, venti¬ 
late their houses well in the daytime, let in the sunlight, 
and live as much as possible in the great outdoors, a 


CONQUERING TUBERCULOSIS 149 

long step will be taken toward the conquering of tuber¬ 
culosis. 

The use of alcohol lowers body resistance. When 
a person takes enough alcohol at one time, he becomes 
“drunk,” or unconscious, almost like a person who has 
taken ether. You can understand that any substance 
which has such a powerful influence upon the body 
must have a definite effect upon the body cells. Appar¬ 
ently the cells which imprison the tubercle bacillus are 
among those which are weakened or partly put to sleep, 
for it is certain that people who use alcohol are more 
likely to develop tuberculosis than those who do not. 
Doctors are very strict in forbidding the use of alcohol 
by tubercular patients. 

The importance of cleanliness.—Keeping good 
health is the first safeguard. The second precaution 
is through those habits of cleanliness which will pre¬ 
vent the bacilli from entering the body. It is hard to 
be sure that you entirely avoid coming in contact with 
the tubercle bacilli, even though your general habits of 
cleanliness are good. You can avoid, however, coming 
in direct contact with the disease. The bacilli are given 
off in the sputum of people who have tuberculosis, and 
it is likely to be carried in droplets of sputum from the 
nose or throat in sneezing or coughing. 

A well-bred person knows that coughing in another 
person’s face is poor etiquette and poor hygiene. If 
some people are neither well-bred nor well-informed 
enough to be careful in such matters, you will do well 


I go CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

to avoid them. In no case should you allow any one 
to cough or sneeze directly into your face. A careless 
cougher does not necessarily have tuberculosis, but the 
fact that he has a cough indicates that there is some 
cause of irritation from which other people should be 
protected. 

In caring for a case of tuberculosis, nurses take every 
precaution not to infect themselves. Things used by 
the patient are used by no one else. Everything coming 
in contact with the sputum is either thoroughly sterilized 
or burned. Those who wait upon a patient are espe¬ 
cially careful about the cleanliness of their hands, in 
order to avoid carrying infection from hands to mouth. 
Tubercle bacilli can get into the body by being swal¬ 
lowed as well as by being drawn into the air passages 
in breathing. 

Preventing tuberculosis.—Some of the lower ani¬ 
mals are subject to tuberculosis. The germ which 
attacks the cow is not exactly like the human tubercle 
bacillus, although it can grow in the human body. It 
is called the bovine type of bacillus, the word “bovine” 
coming from the Latin word “boves,” meaning cattle. 
The bacillus of bovine tuberculosis may be carried to 
people through the milk of cows infected with the dis¬ 
ease, and it often causes tuberculosis of the glands in the 
neck. For this reason, the milk supplies which are con¬ 
sidered safest are those coming from cows.which are 
regularly tested and found free from tuberculosis. An¬ 
other way to safeguard the milk supply is to pasteurize 


CONQUERING TUBERCULOSIS 


151 



Sunlight helps to conquer tuberculosis. 


the milk. In this process the milk is heated enough to 
kill any tubercle bacilli if they are present. 

With increased knowledge about tuberculosis we are 
really conquering the disease. Since 1900 the death 
rate in the United States has been cut in half. Surely 
we may hope for another big reduction within the next 
generation! 

Tuberculosis can be arrested.—Years ago people 
felt quite hopeless if they found that they had tuber¬ 
culosis. Now the outlook is very favorable if the dis¬ 
ease is discovered in the early stages. This is one rea¬ 
son why people should go to their doctors for regular 
yearly physical examinations. “Have a physical ex¬ 
amination on your birthday” is the slogan. In such 
an examination, the existence of tuberculosis can be 







152 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

discovered before the disease is far advanced, and its 
development can be stopped within a few months by 
proper treatment. Once the disease has established it¬ 
self, a great deal of lung tissue may be destroyed; then 
the cure is not so easy. 

A sanitarium is one of the best places in which to be 
treated for tuberculosis. The things which are done 
for the patient there are just those simple, everyday 
things which enable the body to make a fight against the 
disease. The patient has plenty of fresh air, sunlight, 
and good food, including milk, eggs, fresh fruits, and 
vegetables. Long hours of sleep and rest in the open 
air do their part to help restore him to health and 
strength. 

Some people have the mistaken idea that tuberculosis 
comes from weak lungs, and that a patient should build 
strong lungs by deep breathing and exercise. Exer¬ 
cise, with its natural accompaniment of deep breathing, 
is an excellent thing for a healthy person, but it is alto¬ 
gether wrong for a person who has once developed tu¬ 
berculosis. In vigorous exercise the air cells of the 
lungs are filled so tightly that the partly healed spots 
may break open. Then the tubercle bacilli escape from 
their prison before the prison walls are completed. 

The same methods that are used in the sanitarium 
can be used at home if patients will follow the doctor’s 
directions exactly. One difficulty in treating a patient 
at home is that he is likely to be less regular and careful 
in his habits than he would be at the sanitarium. An- 


CONQUERING TUBERCULOSIS I 53 

other difficulty is that proper precautions may not be 
taken to protect the other members of the family. A 
person who has tuberculosis should want to safeguard 
other people from the disease, and those who come in 
contact with the patient should insist upon such safe¬ 
guards. 

Doctors, health departments, and tuberculosis asso¬ 
ciations are leading the fight against tuberculosis. 
What is your share? You can protect yourself by 
building up a strong, healthy body. You can spread, 
by your example and influence, the gospel of clean 
habits. You can cooperate with the Tuberculosis As¬ 
sociation by the purchase of Christmas Seals and by 
helping your local Association whenever there is an op¬ 
portunity. 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Discuss the health habits which aid in the battle against 
tuberculosis. 

2. Make a list of the ways in which we can prevent the spread 
of tuberculosis. 

3. Discuss the things which are done for a person sick with 
tuberculosis to help him get well. 

4. Look up the places and organizations in your community 
which are combating tuberculosis in some way. 

5. Study the moving picture “Tuberculosis and How It May 
Be Avoided” (Eastman Teaching Films) if it is available. 


XV 


THE SCIENCE OF PREVENTION 

Cleanliness offers us a large measure of protection 
from those few bacteria which are injurious. A 
further defense exists in the ability of the body itself 
to fight and conquer the harmful bacteria which find 
their way in. You have seen how the body defends 
itself from tuberculosis by the action of body cells. In 
tuberculosis and in common cold you have examples of 
the way in which general vitality and good health give 
protection from disease. 

Protection by chemical substances.—There is 
another kind of protection which the body is able to 
develop; namely, a defense by the manufacture of chemi¬ 
cal substances. Such a protection is possible against 
smallpox, typhoid fever, diphtheria, and other diseases. 
In these diseases, vigorous health alone does not give 
protection. 

You have heard of chemical warfare which is carried 
on by the use of poisonous substances, one army sending 
out poison gas over the trenches of the enemy. The 
men who are being attacked put on masks which allow 
them to breathe through a filter containing a chemical 
substance which offsets the poison. 

The battle between man and most of the harmful 


154 



Edward Jenner 


155 











156 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

bacteria is largely a chemical warfare. The bacteria 
produce substances which are poisonous to the body. 
The body in turn produces substances which offset the 
poisons of the bacteria. Usually the body cells conquer, 
the bacteria are killed, and the body is freed from them. 

Even the greatest scientists do not understand the 
exact nature of the chemical substances, the particular 
cells of the body which produce them, or the exact man¬ 
ner in which they are produced. We do understand 
the general principles, however, and we know enough 
about the process so that we can protect ourselves. 
Many diseases which were formerly looked upon as 
dangerous enemies of man have been nearly conquered 
by modern science. 

The story of smallpox vaccination.—The first and 
perhaps the most interesting source of our knowledge 
came in conquering smallpox through the use of vac¬ 
cination. You rarely hear of this disease today, but it 
was once more common than measles, and it has always 
been a much more dangerous disease. The skin 
“breaks out,” leaving deep scars or pits which remain 
throughout life. 

It is hard to realize that five hundred years ago al¬ 
most every one’s face was pitted by smallpox, and that 
more people died from smallpox than from any other 
disease. Such was the case, however. It was a chil¬ 
dren’s disease, for not one person in a thousand grew 
up without having had it. One was so sure to have it 
that in Asia there developed the custom of infecting 


THE SCIENCE OF PREVENTION 157 

children purposely with smallpox. In this way a con¬ 
venient time for having the disease might be chosen and 
the child be given the best possible care. 

To infect a child in this way, a bit of material 
from the skin sore of a person having smallpox 
was transferred to the skin or nostrils of the child. 
This practice was known as inoculation. It spread 
throughout the Old World, and even made its way to 
America. 

At first, it appeared to have many advantages. Chil¬ 
dren were infected from the skin of those who had mild 
cases, and so the disease was usually milder and less 
dangerous. People became careless in regard to inocu¬ 
lation, however, so that epidemics often spread from 
inoculated people, and it became an unsatisfactory way 
of controlling the disease. 

A disease called cowpox had been known for a long 
time. (This is really smallpox in the cow.) This dis¬ 
ease of the cows often caused little sores on the hands 
of milkers if there happened to be a cut, scratch, or 
break in the skin of the hand. It was observed that 
milkmen and milkmaids who had developed cowpox 
sores on their hands were among the few people who 
escaped smallpox. 

In 1744, a farmer who had observed this, purposely 
infected his children with cowpox by introducing some 
of the matter from the sores of the cow into their arms 
with a darning needle. He did not make his experi¬ 
ment known, however, and it was Edward Jenner, who, 


158 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

some time later, applied the principle to the control of 
smallpox. 

Edward Jenner was born at Berkeley in Gloucester¬ 
shire, England, more than a hundred and fifty years 
ago. He was a healthy boy who loved the outdoors 
and was especially interested in natural history. When 
he was about eight years old, he went through the try¬ 
ing experience of inoculation for smallpox, being ill for 
about six weeks. Little did the small boy realize that 
some day he was going to bring an end to the unsatis¬ 
factory method of inoculation, and replace it with the 
simple process of vaccination! 

At the age of thirteen Edward decided to become a 
doctor, and was apprenticed to a firm of surgeons with 
whom he stayed for six years. While he was there a 
country woman came to him one day for medical ad¬ 
vice. He was deeply impressed by a statement which 
she made in regard to smallpox. “I cannot take it,” 
she said, “for I have had cowpox.” This fact was 
known among farmers and country people, you see, for 
some time before any one thought of using the prin¬ 
ciple for the control of smallpox. 

After his apprenticeship with the firm of surgeons, 
Jenner became a pupil of the great anatomist, Hunter, 
in London. Here his training continued, and his inter¬ 
est in the study of smallpox increased. Hunter encour¬ 
aged this interest, and in 1780 Jenner began definite 
studies. He spent years in collecting descriptions of 
cases where people had contracted cowpox and after- 


THE SCIENCE OF PREVENTION 


159 



Have you been vaccinated ? 

ward had been able to resist smallpox. It was not until 
1796 that he put his theories to the test. 

Cowpox broke out on a farm near Jenner’s home, 
and a dairymaid became infected with the disease. 
Some of the poisonous matter was taken from a sore 
on her hand and put into the skin on the arm of a small 
boy named James Phipps. About a week later, James 
was slightly ill and there was a small sore on the arm; 
but it passed away quickly, and the arm healed. Only 
a few months later, Jenner inoculated the boy with 
matter taken from a smallpox patient. James did not 
develop smallpox. The inoculation with smallpox was 




l6o CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

tried a second time some months later, and again the 
boy was proof against the disease. Vaccination was 
successful. (Vaccination comes from the Latin word 
“vacca,” meaning cow.) 

Imagine the satisfaction and joy in Jenner’s heart 
when he found that the dreams and studies of long, 
long years were about to be realized in such a great 
blessing to the world! The use of vaccination spread 
rapidly throughout Europe, and it was first introduced 
into America in 1800. Vaccine is now made very care¬ 
fully and distributed to doctors by health departments. 
Vaccination has been made simple and safe; it protects 
you from all danger of smallpox. 

Ever since the days when Jenner first experimented 
with vaccination, there have always been people raising 
objections to it. Now, when smallpox has been so 
largely reduced by vaccination that most of us have 
never seen the horror of the disease, there is a danger¬ 
ous tendency to stop vaccinating. 

In the Philippines we have had a marked example 
of the serious results when vaccination laws are re¬ 
laxed. Before the United States took over the Philip¬ 
pines there were thousands of deaths every year from 
smallpox. Under our government, vaccination was 
compulsory, and smallpox almost disappeared. Then 
in 1913 the health organization was turned over to the 
Filipinos, who did not enforce vaccination. 

Five years later came a great epidemic of smallpox, 


THE SCIENCE OF PREVENTION l6l 

with fifty thousand deaths. Over five thousand Ameri¬ 
can troops were stationed there, but they had been vac¬ 
cinated, and out of that number only one man contracted 
the disease. Vaccination was their defense. As a re¬ 
sult of the epidemic with its frightful loss of life, vac¬ 
cination was reestablished in the islands, and smallpox 
again disappeared. 

Smallpox is conquered only so long as we keep up 
our wall of defense by vaccination. Health is no insur¬ 
ance against this disease. Protection lies only in the 
development of chemical substances in the body which 
offset the infecting organism. Have you been vac¬ 
cinated ? 

The principle of protection against smallpox by vac¬ 
cination is now quite clear, even though we cannot see 
the organism which causes the disease. It seems that 
the germ has been weakened and changed by living in 
the body of the cow so that it grows but feebly in the 
skin of the arm where it is introduced. It cannot pro¬ 
duce typical smallpox; but it does produce smallpox 
poisons which cause the body to manufacture anti¬ 
poisons. The anti-poisons not only kill the cowpox 
germs and help the scratch of the skin to heal, but they 
also accumulate and remain in the blood. These anti¬ 
poisons promptly kill any smallpox germs which get 
into the body for several years to come. 

During Jenner’s time people did not understand this 
explanation because no one had heard of germs caus- 


162 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


ing disease. They knew only that cowpox—a disease 
limited to a temporary sore in one spot of the skin— 
was a sure preventive against smallpox. 

Pasteur discovers the principle of protection.— 
It was Pasteur who first saw the explanation. You 
remember how he discovered that bacteria cause the 
“diseases” of beer and wine and the disease of silk¬ 
worms. He thought that bacteria might be the cause 
of the “catching” diseases in man, and he was the first 
to suggest the idea of a disease as a battle between man 
and a germ. He concluded that in vaccination man 
always wins the battle because the smallpox germ has 
been weakened by living in the body of the cow. 
Straightway he set about testing this theory by weaken¬ 
ing the germs of other diseases so that protective “vac¬ 
cination” could be tried. 

At about this time it was proved that anthrax, a 
disease of sheep and cattle, is caused by bacteria. 
Pasteur grew the anthrax bacilli under such unfavor¬ 
able conditions that they were barely able to keep alive. 
He injected these weakened germs under the skin of 
healthy cattle and sheep. The process of overcoming 
these weakened enemies was so easy that the animals 
showed no sign of the disease. In this way, however, 
the animal body gained the ability to overcome even 
the strongest and most vigorous of the anthrax germs. 
An animal “vaccinated” against anthrax cannot have 
the disease; it has been made immune. 

The Pasteur treatment for preventing rabies or 


THE SCIENCE OF PREVENTION 163 

hydrophobia in man is based upon this same prin¬ 
ciple. These early discoveries of Pasteur have led 
to the development of a new science—preventive medi¬ 
cine. 

Vaccination against typhoid fever.—Have you 
heard of the process of vaccination against typhoid 
fever ? In this case the bacteria which cause the dis¬ 
ease are grown in a test tube upon specially prepared 
culture media. They are removed from the test tube, 
killed with heat, and then injected under the skin. The 
body easily produces the anti-poison and thereby gains 
the ability to protect itself from living germs of the 
disease. 

The control of diphtheria.—One of the best-known 
applications of preventive medicine is its use in the pre¬ 
vention and cure of diphtheria. Have you heard of 
diphtheria antitoxin, or of the Schick Test? Let us 
find out what science has to tell us about them. 

Diphtheria is caused by the diphtheria bacillus, grow¬ 
ing in the throat or nose, and often producing a gray¬ 
ish patch on the side of the throat. Some of these 
bacteria can be taken from the throat of a patient, trans¬ 
ferred to a test tube containing suitable culture media, 
and grown in the laboratory. 

As these bacteria grow, they secrete or discharge 
from themselves a powerful poison which is called 
diphtheria toxin. When they are growing in the nose 
or throat, this poison is absorbed by the fluids of the 
body and carried about by the blood. It is the diph- 


164 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

theria toxin which produces the serious effects of the 
disease. 

You know that a person who has had diphtheria once 
is not likely to have it again. This is because the body 
has developed an anti-poison—diphtheria antitoxin. 
Antitoxin is nature’s remedy for the disease. 

Science has found a way to develop this substance 
in the blood of the horse. Small quantities of diph¬ 
theria poison are injected under the skin. The horse 
may be a little uncomfortable, but he is carefully taken 
care of, kindly treated, and he looks sleek and con¬ 
tented with life. He manufactures antitoxin in his 
body just as human beings do when they have diph¬ 
theria. After a few weeks some blood is removed from 
the horse, and the antitoxin is taken out. 

Antitoxin is a sure cure if it is used the day the dis¬ 
ease starts, and it will usually effect a cure if used at a 
later period. The more prompt the treatment, how¬ 
ever, the more certain is the cure. 

You may have heard how, only a few years ago, the 
city of Nome, Alaska, was saved from a diphtheria 
epidemic. The nearest supply of antitoxin was nearly 
a thousand miles away, with no means of transporta¬ 
tion except dog teams, which would usually take 
about fourteen days for the trip. Fourteen days was 
too long! In that time diphtheria would have done its 
worst! But the worst did not happen, for over the 
frozen tundra, through the bitter Arctic cold, brave men 
and dogs raced as they had never raced before, and in 



Photo by Hiram Meyers. Courtesy of Milbank Memorial Fund. 


Immunization against diphtheria saves thousands of lives. 
The spot of iodine on the baby’s arm shows where toxoid or 
toxin-antitoxin is injected. 


165 











l66 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

five and a half days the precious antitoxin was delivered 
to the anxious doctor in Nome. 

Antitoxin, taken from the horse and injected into 
the body, is thrown off with the body discharges, and 
when it is gone, there is no longer any protection against 
diphtheria. When the body produces its own anti¬ 
toxin from having had the disease, the protection seems 
to be permanent. 

A process has now been discovered by which one 
can be permanently protected from diphtheria through 
using a mixture of toxin and antitoxin. When these 
two substances are mixed together, the toxin does not 
injure the body, and yet it causes the body to produce 
its own antitoxin so that a permanent protection is 
secured. Toxoid (toxin which has been made harm¬ 
less by the addition of a chemical) is used for the same 
purpose. 

A simple test, called the Schick Test, has been de¬ 
vised to tell whether or not a person is immune to diph¬ 
theria ; that is, whether he already has antitoxin in his 
blood. A little test solution is introduced into the outer 
skin of the forearm. This is a painless process because 
there are no nerve endings in the outer skin. If a per¬ 
son already has antitoxin in the blood, the test solution 
is promptly neutralized. If he has no antitoxin, there 
is enough irritation to produce a little red spot on the 
skin. This is spoken of as a positive reaction, and is a 
sign that a person should be treated with toxin-anti¬ 
toxin in order to be made immune. 



THE SCIENCE OF PREVENTION l6 J 

Babies should be immunized between the ages of six 
months and one year. When all boys and girls are 
protected by toxin-antitoxin before entering school, 
diphtheria among school children will disappear. 

Scarlet fever can be controlled to some extent in a sim¬ 
ilar way. We do not have such good weapons against 
some of the other diseases, such as measles and chicken 
pox. Fortunately for us, nature has discovered the 
weapons, and when the germs get into our bodies, nature 
will promptly produce the substances necessary to kill 
them and bring the body back to health again. 

Remember, then, that in some diseases, like tuber¬ 
culosis and common cold, general bodily health is the 
best protection. In other diseases, like smallpox, diph¬ 
theria, scarlet fever, and typhoid, protection depends 
upon having the right anti-poisons in the blood; that 
is, upon vaccination or immunization. 


Questions for Discussion 

1. What is the difference between the way the body pro¬ 
tects itself from tuberculosis and the way it protects it¬ 
self from smallpox? 

2. How important was smallpox five hundred years ago ? 

3. What was inoculation against smallpox? 

4. What is cowpox ? 

5. What is vaccination ? 

6. How did Jenner discover vaccination? 

7. How did the experience of the Philippine Islands show 
the value of vaccination? 

8. Why does vaccination protect against smallpox? 



1 68 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

9. What was Pasteur’s idea of the way in which we could 
protect ourselves against such diseases ? 

10. How did Pasteur protect animals against anthrax? 

11. What is vaccination against typhoid fever ? 

12. What is diphtheria toxin ? 

13. What is diphtheria antitoxin ? Its use ? 

14. What is diphtheria toxin-antitoxin? Its use? 

15. What is the Schick Test? 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Find out whether every one in your class has been vac¬ 
cinated against smallpox and immunized against diph¬ 
theria. 

2. Study the film “Diphtheria” (Eastman Teaching Films) if 
it is available. 


XVI 


HARMFUL SUBSTANCES 

The human machine, like any delicate mechanism, 
needs to be protected from contact with substances 
which may harm it. Probably you already know some¬ 
thing about the way in which alcohol, drugs, and to¬ 
bacco affect the body. Now that you have learned about 
bacteria and the way in which the body protects itself 
against disease, you can understand some additional 
facts about the effect of these substances upon the hu¬ 
man machine. 

Alcohol. —Alcohol is one of the substances thrown 
off from yeast plants when they are growing in sugar 
solution. In making wine, the juice of grapes is pressed 
out and poured into great vats. Yeast cells are allowed 
to grow in these vats of sweet grape juice. In a few 
days the nature of the grape juice is completely changed. 
The yeast cells have used up the sugar and have thrown 
off alcohol as a waste product until so much alcohol is 
present that the yeast cells cannot live in the fluid any 
longer. A similar process is used in making beer. In 
this case, however, the liquid is made by soaking the 
sugar out of sprouting barley seeds. 

Wine and beer contain less alcohol than distilled 
liquors, such as whisky and gin. The process of dis¬ 
tilling concentrates the alcohol; that is, there is a greater 

169 


170 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

amount of alcohol in any given amount of liquid. 
There is a limit to the amount of alcohol produced by the 
growth of yeast cells, because the yeast plants begin to 
die off when the liquor contains about ten per cent 
alcohol. 

In order to secure the stronger liquors, therefore, 
the process of distillation must be used. This is done 
by boiling. Alcohol boils at a temperature lower than 
that necessary for boiling water. When a liquid con¬ 
taining alcohol is heated, the alcohol turns to vapor 
before the water boils at all, so that the first vapor which 
passes off is alcohol. This vapor can be collected, and 
thus the concentrated, or distilled, liquors are made. 

Whisky is made by distilling fermented corn or rye. 
Brandy is made of distilled wine. Rum comes from 
distilled fermented molasses. Gin is secured from a 
fermented mixture of rye and malt. These distilled 
liquors usually contain from thirty to sixty per cent 
alcohol. Wine contains only from seven to twenty per 
cent alcohol, and malt liquors, like beer and ale, contain 
from three to eight per cent. Sometimes the alcoholic 
content of wine is increased by adding* alcohol. 

Alcohol, as you may know, belongs to the group of 
substances called narcotics. A narcotic has a peculiar 
effect upon the brain. In fact, one might say that it 
puts the brain cells to sleep. When a person drinks 
alcoholic liquors, the brain is gradually affected by this 
“sleep-producing” action of the narcotic. If a person 
drinks enough, the sleeping effect is so complete that 


HARMFUL SUBSTANCES 171 

unconsciousness results. Even in small amounts, the 
effect upon the brain cells is so marked that memory is 
injured and the mind is unable to do quick or accurate 
work. 

Some of the injurious effects of alcohol. —Some 
interesting tests were made in a college some time ago 
to measure the effect of alcohol upon ability to do mental 
work. Students were required to add up columns of 
figures, and were checked as to the time used in making 
the additions and as to the number of mistakes made. 
After the first trial, they were given a small amount of 
alcoholic liquor and then required to perform the test 
again. They were so confused by the drink that they 
felt sure they had made a better record than at the first 
trial. When the results were checked up, however, they 
found that not only had it taken them a longer time to 
make the additions, but that they had made more mis¬ 
takes. 

Interesting experiments with typesetters have been 
reported. The men were setting up type from an au¬ 
thor’s manuscript. Even moderate doses of alcohol re¬ 
duced the amount of work they could do and increased 
the number of mistakes they made. 

Such effects in the nervous system show up very 
quickly under the influence of alcohol. Other more 
serious effects often appear when alcohol is used con¬ 
tinuously in large amounts. Parts of the brain are 
seriously injured, resulting in certain forms of insanity. 
The records of some of our insane hospitals show that 


172 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


J.G • 



Alcohol is forbidden to athletes in training. 


twelve per cent of the people admitted for mental dis¬ 
ease have suffered the results of alcoholism. There is 
no doubt that abstinence from the use of alcoholic liquors 
is an important step toward reducing the amount of 
mental disease. 

Alcohol affects the body, too. It reduces the ability 
of the muscles. Scientists find from experiment that 
at first the activity of muscle is slightly increased, but 



HARMFUL SUBSTANCES 


173 


that very soon it becomes weaker than normal. The 
end result is that the muscle loses in ability to do work. 
Heart muscles work faster under the influence of alco¬ 
hol, but the heartbeat is weaker. 

Alcohol and the death rate. —You can easily see 
that anything which produces such a marked effect upon 
mind, muscles, and heart must reduce the general health 
and vigor of the body. The figures gathered by life 
insurance companies show that people who use alcohol 
do not live so long as those who abstain. A man who 
drinks heavily is not considered a “good risk” for in¬ 
surance. 

A very interesting study along this line was made 
from the records of forty-three life insurance com¬ 
panies.* A large number of insured men were divided 
into four groups, and the death rates were compared. 
The division of groups and the comparative death rates 
were as follows: 

Group I included just average people insured by the 
companies, without regard to whether they used alcohol 
or not. The death rates for the other groups were com¬ 
pared with the death rate for this group. 

Group II included people who, when insured, were 
moderate drinkers, using perhaps two glasses of beer 
or a glass of whisky every day. In this group, the 
death rate was eighteen per cent higher than in the first 
group, representing an average. 

* From Report of Medico-Actuarial Mortality Investigation, IV, 
pages 11-13. 


174 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

Group III included 
those who admitted having 
at some time used alcohol 
immoderately, but who 
were believed to be cured 
of its use. The death rate 
among these people was 
fifty per cent higher than 
the rate for the average in 
Group I. 

Group IV was made up 
of men who drank more 
heavily than those in Group II, but were looked upon as 
fairly healthy. The death rate here was eighty-six per 
cent more than the average death rate in Group I. 

Of course the increased death rate among the groups 
which used alcohol was probably not entirely due to the 
effect of the alcohol. No doubt people who avoid 
alcohol take better care of their bodies in other ways, 
too. Whatever the reasons for longer life, certainly 
one would be fortunate to belong to that class of people 
who care enough for health to preserve it in every pos¬ 
sible way. 

One reason for increased death rate among alcoholics 
is that alcohol interferes with the ability of the body to 
fight disease. You know how the white blood cells im¬ 
prison the tubercle bacilli which get into the lungs. 
They do a similar work in many other diseases. In 

* These are comparative rates—not specific annual death rates. 




HARMFUL SUBSTANCES 175 

some kinds of infection, however, the protection of the 
body does not lie so much in these “soldier cells” as in 
certain chemical substances which are produced some¬ 
how in the body and given into the blood stream. The 
effectiveness of the defense is reduced by alcohol. 
Certain protective substances appear to be actually de¬ 
stroyed by alcohol, although we do not know exactly 
what takes place within the body. People who use al¬ 
cohol freely have almost no ability to fight off pneu¬ 
monia. They also have little resistance against tuber¬ 
culosis. 

Arctic explorers have long known that the use of 
alcohol is dangerous to men who must be exposed to 
severe cold. It causes the blood vessels near the skin 
to dilate and fill with blood, thus increasing the loss of 
heat from the body. Such a loss may prove fatal to 
men in the Far North whose lives depend upon keeping 
a sufficient amount of body heat. 

A story is told of woodmen who were obliged to spend 
a cold night away from camp. Those who drank 
whisky felt comfortable and soon went to sleep. The 
others were uncomfortable all night, but were alive in 
the morning, whereas those who drank whisky were 
frozen to death. 

We can summarize the harmful effects of alcohol 
as follows: (i) It injures the brain and nervous system 
so that ability to do mental work is decreased. If used 
freely, it may produce mental disease or certain types of 
insanity. (2) It interferes with the muscular system, 


176 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

thereby reducing the amount of physical work or athletic 
ability. ( 3 ) It makes the heartbeat more rapid and less 
strong. It interferes with the circulation, causing the 
body to lose heat more rapidly. (4) It reduces the 
power of the body to protect itself against disease. 

In 1918 the Prohibition Law went into effect in the 
United States, through a Constitutional Amendment 
proposed by Congress and approved by two-thirds of 
the states. The law was established because people 
felt that alcohol was a decided evil in destroying health, 
happiness, and prosperity. Some people who did not 
want the law passed insist upon getting liquor in spite of 
national prohibition. Out of this a new danger has 
arisen. Wood alcohol and other poisonous substitutes 
are used to manufacture drinks. They also affect the 
body seriously. Many people have been made blind by 
such liquors, and in some instances sudden death has 
resulted. 

Drugs. —There are many drugs which are “habit¬ 
forming” and which affect the body in a way similar 
to alcohol; these include opium, morphine, cocaine, 
heroin, and chloral. These substances are perhaps 
even more dangerous than alcohol. When a person has 
formed the habit of using them, he finds it almost 
impossible to live without them. His body feels so 
wretched without the drug that he is willing to do 
almost anything to get more. He loses not only his 
health but his self-control and self-respect as well. 

It seems strange, perhaps, that people who know the 


HARMFUL SUBSTANCES 


177 

danger involved should begin the use of these drugs. 
Sometimes they take drugs first in patent medicines 
without realizing that anything unusual is happening 
until the drug habit is formed. The danger from patent 
medicines was so great that national laws have been 
passed to control the sale of drug-containing medicines. 
The Pure Food and Drug Act requires that patent 
medicines shall be correctly labeled, and the Harrison 
Narcotic Law definitely restricts the sale or use of 
the habit-forming drugs. 

It is really dangerous to use patent medicines of 
which you know nothing except that they are adver¬ 
tised to cure this, that, or the other disease. A few 
simple home remedies may be used in cases of slight 
illness, but when you are sick enough to need “medicine” 
you need to call your doctor. 

Some of these drugs are very useful in the hands of 
a skilled physician as a means of reducing pain for 
people who are ill and suffering. These dangerous 
drugs cannot be purchased unless prescribed by a doctor. 

Tobacco. —Tobacco belongs to a group of plants 
which includes not only the useful potato and tomato, 
but also such poisonous plants as the “Deadly Night¬ 
shade” and “Henbane.” It contains the narcotic sub¬ 
stance, nicotine, the harmful effects of which appear in 
many ways. 

College athletes are not allowed to smoke while they 
are training. One reason is that tobacco affects the 
heart, frequently causing it to “skip” beats. 


178 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

Another reason is that 
it interferes with the ef¬ 
ficiency of the nervous 
system. This is shown 
in an interesting way by 
experiments made with 
rifle marksmanship. The 
marksmanship of the men 
was improved by resting, 
provided they did not 
smoke during the rest 
period. If they did smoke 
while resting, their accu¬ 
racy was decreased. The 
more they smoked during 
the rest time, the more 
their accuracy suffered. 

The effect of tobacco 
upon the nerves is at first 
mildly exciting. After a little while, however, the ef¬ 
fect is one of deadening or depressing the nervous sys¬ 
tem. Some doctors say that they have found eyesight 
injured by continued and heavy smoking. 

Professor Irving Fisher of Yale University has the 
following to say about tobacco; It injures the heart. 
It disturbs the blood pressure. It poisons the nerves. 
It hurts the eyes. It lessens the resistance to tuber¬ 
culosis and other diseases. Its use sometimes produces 
cancer. It often leads to the use of alcohol. It re- 



Tobacco plant 









HARMFUL SUBSTANCES 


179 



Testing rifle marksmanship 

duces much of the power and accuracy of the mind. 
It impairs working efficiency. It decreases athletic 
power. It stunts the growth of the young. It prob¬ 
ably shortens life. 







i8o 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Growth chart of William L., age 15 years 


If the use of tobacco has an effect upon the ability of 
an athlete, it is not surprising to know that it interferes 
with the growth of the body. Indeed, any injurious 
practice has a more marked effect upon the body during 
years of growth than in later life. In addition to the 
effect of the drug itself, there is a loss of appetite which 














































HARMFUL SUBSTANCES 


181 


commonly accompanies the use of tobacco by growing 
boys. 

Perhaps you know a boy whose growth has been 
affected by the use of tobacco. The growth chart 
shown here gives a true record of the weight of a fifteen- 
year-old boy during one winter. You will notice that 
while he kept up the habit of smoking, he lost weight, 
and when he gave up the habit, he began to gain. So 
far as we could learn, there was no change in his habits 
of living which could account for his loss of weight 
except smoking. 

The amount of money spent for tobacco is more than 
all the money spent for public schools in the country. 
Think what it would mean to many boys and girls if 
this money could be used for purposes of education and 
health improvement. 

Questions to Answer 

i . How does a narcotic affect the human body ? 

2. Tell four ways in which alcohol injures the body. 

3. Why is it dangerous to take patent medicines ? 

4. Why are college athletes forbidden to smoke? 

5. Why is tobacco particularly dangerous for a growing boy ? 

6. What would you rather do with your money than to spend 
it for tobacco ? 


XVII 


ANIMAL FRIENDS AND ENEMIES 

Man has both friends and enemies among the lower 
animals. If you were to select some of his friends, 
you would probably name the dog, the horse, and the 
cow. Among his enemies you might name the wolf 
and the tiger. Some of the little animals, like the bed¬ 
bug, the mosquito, and the louse, are also enemies of 
man. 

Animal relationships. —When we look into this 
matter further we find that the lower animals, too, have 
their friends and their enemies. In every case the 
relationship is chiefly a question of food supply. In 
fact, for most animals (except those who feed only upon 
plants) there are: (i) certain kinds of animals upon 
which they can feed; (2) certain kinds of animals which 
feed upon them; and (3) certain kinds of animals with 
which they can cooperate in securing food. This third 
type of relationship, in which the two kinds of animals 
can live together to mutual advantage, is less common. 

Let us use the hen in illustrating these three relation¬ 
ships. In the first group are the worms and insects, 
which the hen scratches up for food. In the second 
group we find the hawk, the fox, and the weasel, which 
prey upon hens and chickens if they get a chance. We 

182 


ANIMAL FRIENDS AND ENEMIES 


183 



may place man in the third group of animals so far as 
the hen is concerned, since the hen supplies man with 
eggs for food while he protects and feeds the hen. 

Another animal which belongs in the second group is 
the mite, a small insect which sometimes lives upon the 
skin and among the feathers of the hen; the mite feeds 
upon the hen and causes her great discomfort. An 
animal which lives in or upon another and secures its 
food from the larger animal is called a parasite. 

These principles of relationship hold true among the 
small animals as well as among the larger ones. The 
ants, for example, feed upon the young of many in¬ 
sects and even attack larger animals in search of food. 
They have their enemies in the anteater and the birds. 
Some of them have a very remarkable “friendship” 
with plant lice, living with them to mutual advantage. 

Certain species of ants keep droves of these plant 
lice in “sheds,” as man keeps cows. The plant lice 
feed upon the sweet juices of roots and stems, and 
secrete a sweet liquid which the ants use as food. The 







184 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

ants care for the plant lice somewhat and keep them 
where there is a good food supply. Such a relation¬ 
ship, which is beneficial to both animals, is called sym¬ 
biosis, or living together. 

Every animal, from the lowest to the highest, dis¬ 
regards the welfare of other animals in his quest for 
food. The wild animals, which would like to feed upon 
man, cause us little concern. There are, however, sev¬ 
eral of the small animals, like the mosquito, which feed 
upon us occasionally. Others, like the louse, become 
parasites upon the body of man. We save ourselves 
from these—our little food-seeking enemies—by the 
cleanliness or sanitation of our houses, our towns, and 
our cities. 

Mosquitoes. —The mosquito gives us a great deal 
of trouble. There are many species, or kinds, of mos¬ 
quitoes just as there are many different kinds of beetles 
or butterflies. The male mosquitoes do not bite, but 
the females are blood-sucking creatures. They push 
their hollow, needle-shaped “bills” through the skin, 
and take their fill of blood. The mosquito bite swells, 
smarts, and itches. 

The bite of most mosquitoes produces no other ef¬ 
fects. There are, however, a few species of mosquito 
whose bite may have more serious results, because they 
sometimes carry parasitic animals in their bodies which 
are transferred to man and become parasites in him. 

Malaria. —The mosquito which is most dangerous 
because of the parasite it carries is the Anopheles. 


ANIMAL FRIENDS AND ENEMIES 185 

The parasite is a small, one-cell animal which causes 
malaria. It is so small that it can live and grow in the 
red blood corpuscles of man, and there it is found in 
people who have the disease. 

When Mrs. Anopheles Mosquito bites a malaria pa¬ 
tient, she draws up some of these parasites with the 
blood. The parasites live and multiply in the body of 
the mosquito, find their way to the glands about its 
mouth, and are introduced into the blood of a well per¬ 
son when the mosquito bites again. 

Quinine will kill the malaria parasite in the blood; 
it is used as a medicine to cure and to prevent the dis¬ 
ease. The most effective way to keep malaria away, 
however, is to keep the place free from the Anopheles 
mosquito. 

Yellow Fever. —Another dangerous species of mos¬ 
quito is ^Edes (formerly called Stegomyia), which 
carries the parasite of yellow fever. The parasite it¬ 
self is not known, but we have definite proof that yellow 
fever is transmitted only by this mosquito. Walter 
Reed, a young army surgeon, made this life-saving dis¬ 
covery. 

There are two other diseases, dengue and filariasis, 
which are transmitted by other species of mosquitoes. 

Mosquito control. —It is to our interest to get rid 
of all mosquitoes, both those which merely annoy us by 
biting and those which carry disease. The eggs are 
laid in water and hatch out into larvae, or “wigglers,” 
which feed upon tiny plants and particles in the water. 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


186 



They breathe air by means of a system of tubes run¬ 
ning throughout the body, and when they are in need 
of air, they come up to the top and stick the air tube 
through the surface of the water. 






























ANIMAL FRIENDS AND ENEMIES 1 87 

After a few days the wigglers change into the pupae, 
often called “tumblers.” The head is very large, and 
breathing takes place through its two small projections. 
From this stage the mature insect emerges. The skin 
of the pupa cracks along the back and the mosquito 
crawls out, floats for a moment on the old pupa skin, 
and then flies away. 

Stagnant water furnishes breeding places for mos¬ 
quitoes. This means that rain barrels should be cov¬ 
ered, and that pools or cans of standing water should be 
done away with. Marshes and pools are sometimes 
drained by the city; if this cannot be done, crude oil 
is spread over the top of the water. This kills the 
larvae and pupae, because it clogs their air tubes with 
an injurious substance. Paris green poisons and kills 
Anopheles larvae when it is dusted upon the water. 

The best illustration of the value of mosquito control 
is the building of the Panama Canal. Before it was 
known that mosquitoes carry yellow fever and malaria, 
an attempt was made to build a canal at Panama; but 
men could not be kept in good health long enough to do 
the work. When General Gorgas cleaned up the Canal 
Zone and got rid of the mosquitoes, these diseases dis¬ 
appeared. The canal was built, and the Canal Zone 
is now a thoroughly healthful place. 

The house fly. —The house fly is another pest. This 
insect does not bite, but it is likely to bring infection to 
man. It crawls about over all sorts of filth and then 
walks over food. The feet and legs of the fly are 


188 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Life history of the house fly: i, eggs of the house fly; 2, larva 
or maggot hatching from egg; 3, larva; 4, pupa in case; 5, nearly 
developed pupa; 6, mature house fly as seen when he is walking 
up the outside of a windowpane. 










ANIMAL FRIENDS AND ENEMIES 189 

covered with long hairs which may pick up many bac¬ 
teria. 

The house fly lays its eggs upon animal manure, in 
garbage, or on some other decaying substance. Within 
a few hours the eggs hatch into larvae, which are called 
maggots. The maggots eat almost continuously and 
grow rapidly. After four days they turn into pupae. 
The pupa is a resting stage, during which the animal 
does not feed, but undergoes a marked change in body 
structure. At the end of about four days, the fly breaks 
the shell of the pupa and comes out. 

The fly pest can be controlled only by the cleanliness 
of the home and the community. If proper care is 
taken to prevent the accumulation of filth in which they 
can breed, the number of flies will be very small. 

Bedbugs. —Another insect pest is the bedbug, which 
bites man in order to secure food. Its bite is very 
irritating. 

Bedbugs breed in small cracks about the beds or the 
walls of the room. Once they have established them¬ 
selves, it is difficult to get rid of them. One way is by 
fumigating with poisonous gases. Another method is 
by filling all cracks with gasoline, kerosene, or some 
other petroleum oil. The use of scalding hot water or 
soap suds is also effective. The room should be thor¬ 
oughly cleaned; all cracks and crevices should be closed 
and covered with a thick coating of paint or varnish. 

Lice. —The louse is one of our enemies among the 
parasitic animals. Head lice grow on the scalp, where 


190 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

they cause irritation and itching as they take their food 
from the outer part of the skin. The eggs, or nits, are 
attached to the hair and can be seen readily as tiny white 
specks. 

The lice can be killed by using petroleum or larkspur 
or certain soaps made for this purpose. The nits are 
more difficult to get rid of. They must be carefully re 
moved from the hair with the fingers or with a very fine 
comb; warm vinegar helps to loosen them. Any one 
may become infested with head lice, but no one of ciean 
personal habits will keep them. 

Hookworm. —There are some worms which are 
parasites. One of these is the hookworm. 

Hookworm disease is fairly common in the southern 
part of the United States and in other warm countries. 
It is caused by a little round worm which gets into the 
body through the skin of the hands or feet. This para¬ 
site finds its way into the blood stream and finally into 
the intestines, where the worms become mature and 
lay eggs. 

The eggs are discharged with the body wastes. They 
hatch out into tiny wormlike larvae, which live for some 
time in the soil. If they come in contact with the skin, 
they make their way into the body. Walking barefoot 
over infected soil, or handling such soil, offers an op¬ 
portunity of becoming infected with hookworms. 

Here again cleanliness is the chief safeguard. If all 
houses are connected with a sewer or have sanitary 
privies, there is no chance for the soil to become in- 


ANIMAL FRIENDS AND ENEMIES I9I 

fected with hookworms, and therefore little chance for 
the disease to spread. 

We have mentioned in this chapter some of the ani¬ 
mals which are most important in relation to health. 
There are a few others which cause occasional trouble; 
for example, the tapeworm and the porkworm (tri¬ 
china), which sometimes live in large animals and find 
their way into man’s body through infected meat which 
is not thoroughly cooked. 

Man has no need for anxiety in regard to his animal 
enemies, because he understands their nature and 
knows the principles of cleanliness by which they can 
be avoided. 

Questions to Answer 

1. What are the three kinds of animal relationships ? 

2. What is a parasite ? 

3. How is malaria transmitted? 

4. How does one get yellow fever? 

5. What is the life history of the mosquito ? 

6. How do we get rid of mosquitoes ? 

7. What is the life history of the house fly? 

8. How can the fly pest be controlled ? 

9. How can a room be freed from bedbugs ? 

10. How can a head infested with lice be made clean? 

11. How is the spread of hookworm disease prevented ? 


XVIII 


THE CARE OF FOOD 

Just as the farmer learns the science of keeping the 
weeds out of his gardens, so the modern housewife em¬ 
ploys scientific cleanliness in the care of food. She 
does this for two reasons: (i) to keep the food from 
spoiling; (2) to protect the health of the family. 

It is particularly difficult to protect food from the 
kinds of bacteria which produce spores. In the forma¬ 
tion of spores, the living material, or protoplasm, con¬ 
tracts into a smaller space and forms a thick protecting 
wall about itself. Spores of bacteria, therefore, are 
not easily killed by heat or by drying. They can live 
for a long time even in dry dust. In fact, all dust is 
likely to contain spores, and when the spores find a 
place suitable for growth, they turn back into bacteria 
and multiply rapidly. 

There are many ways in which bacteria get into foods 
—from the air, the dust, and from the hands of people. 
Flies leave on foods countless bacteria which they have 
picked up on their feet and legs. They inhabit the most 
filthy places, and without any washing of feet they 
crawl about on the baby’s milk bottle or on unprotected 
food. Even with the greatest cleanliness and care in 
the home, it is difficult to keep food entirely free from 
bacteria. 


192 


THE CARE OF FOOD 193 

General rules for the care of food. —There are cer¬ 
tain general rules for the care of food which must be 
observed by the careful housewife. A few of these 
rules are listed here. 

Avoid careless handling. Certain foods, like fruits 
and vegetables, can be washed. They may not look 
dirty, and yet be soiled from handling and from dust. 
The tops of milk bottles and cream jars should be 
washed, too, before the cardboard covers are removed. 
Why would you refuse to exchange food or to eat food 
picked up from the floor? 

Foods which are to be eaten without cooking or 
Washing should be kept covered and protected from dirt 
in every way. This rule applies to bread, cake, cookies, 
crackers, candy, pickles, and cooked foods of all kinds. 
Some of these are kept in the refrigerator, which gives 
proper protection. Others can be kept in food tins or 
food jars. The important thing is that they should not 
be exposed to dust and careless handling. The care 
of food in the store and restaurant is just as important 
as its care in the house. Do you ever notice how food 
is cared for in the stores where you trade? 

Foods which spoil quickly shoidd be kept cold. Bac¬ 
teria increase rapidly in such foods as milk, cream, 
meat, and fish when they are allowed to stand in warm 
rooms. 

Observe careful habits of cleanliness in the prepara¬ 
tion of food. Have your hands clean when you start. 
If you have to use a handkerchief, pick up something 


!Q 4 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

from the floor, or come in contact with anything which 
will soil your hands, you should wash them again. 
Careless habits, such as licking the fingers or dipping 
the tasting spoon back into food, have no place in the 
modern kitchen. 

People who prepare food should be free from con¬ 
tagious diseases. Cooks, kitchen maids, and restau¬ 
rant workers are dangerous to the health of others if 
they carry such diseases as tuberculosis, typhoid fever, 
or diphtheria. Even in a case of common cold, a per¬ 
son should stop cooking for other members of the 
family, or should take every possible precaution to see 
that the cold does not spread to others through the food. 
How can this be done ? 

Food should be protected from flies, water bugs, ants, 
and mice. Most housewives do this in two ways: (i) 
by keeping the house rid of vermin; (2) by caring for 
food in such a way that an occasional “visitor” cannot 
reach it. Discuss in class methods of keeping the 
household rid of pests. Why are they dangerous to 
health ? 

The care of milk. —Certain foods spoil quickly un¬ 
less they receive special care. It is hard to keep milk 
from spoiling because bacteria grow in it so readily.- 
You remember that the conditions favorable for the 
growth of bacteria are food, moisture, partial or com¬ 
plete darkness, and proper temperature. All of these 
conditions may be found in milk. 

Milk is a watery fluid which contains sugar, protein, 


THE CARE OF FOOD 


195 

fat, minerals, and vitamins. Bacteria do not attack 
fats, but there are several kinds which feed upon milk 
sugar and sour the milk. There are other varieties 
which live upon milk protein and putrefy the milk. 

As milk comes from the body of the cow it is warm. 
Moreover, it is an opaque fluid; that is, the sun does not 
shine through it as it does through water. You cannot 
look through it. So even if the milk were set in the 
sunlight, the bacteria would still be protected from the 
rays of the sun. 

Usually there is excellent opportunity for bacteria 
to settle into milk at the time of milking unless particu¬ 
lar care is taken. These bacteria may have come from 
the dust of the air, from dirt on the cow’s body, or 
from the milker’s hands and clothing. Clean milk 
comes from clean, healthy cows. Clean barns, clean 
milkers, clean people to handle the milk, clean utensils, 
prompt cooling of the milk, and early delivery are all 
important. 

You have very little direct control over the milk be¬ 
fore it reaches you, but you can help to give it the proper 
care in your home. If bottles are left daily by the 
milkman, they should be left in a place where cats and 
dogs cannot lick the tops or push out the stoppers. 
Do not allow the milk to get warm by standing in the sun. 

If you live where you take your own can or bottle 
to get milk, be sure that it is kept perfectly clean, and 
that the milk is covered while you are bringing it home. 
All utensils used for milk need to be thoroughly washed 


196 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 



Which is the more sanitary type of milk pail? Why? 


in hot, soapy water and then scalded. Bottles are bet¬ 
ter than cans. Do you know why? 

Milk should be kept cold at all times; it should not 
be left standing about in a warm kitchen or dining 
room. The refrigerator is the best place to keep milk 
cold, of course. A fairly good way of keeping it cold 
when you are camping or when you get out of ice 
is to wrap a wet cloth about the bottle and place it in 
a pan of water so that the cloth is constantly wet. The 
evaporation of water from the cloth keeps the milk cold. 

Sometimes people turn fresh milk into a pitcher which 
already contains some left-over milk. Milk keeps 
longer if it is not mixed in this way. You can see for 
yourself the reason why. The “old” milk contains 
more bacteria than the fresh milk, and the presence 
of these bacteria in the mixed milk will hasten the 
spoiling process. 



















THE CARE OF FOOD 


I 9 7 

The spoiling of milk. —The usual way in which 
milk spoils is by souring. This is caused by the lactic 
acid bacteria feeding upon the milk sugar, turning it 
into lactic acid. Sour milk is perfectly wholesome, 
and may be used in cooking. Indeed, milk soured in 
special ways is regarded by many as particularly whole¬ 
some. 

Another spoiling process sometimes takes place. 
This is called putrefaction. It is caused by a change 
in the proteins of the milk, due to the feeding of certain 
bacteria. In this state, the milk becomes slightly yel¬ 
low and appears spongy or stringy. It tastes bitter, 
and is not fit for use. 

Milk is such an important food that extreme care 
should be taken to have it produced under clean condi¬ 
tions and protected in every way. Nothing takes the 
place of milk for growing children. It contains the 
best proteins for growth; it has fat and sugar in forms 
most easily used by the body; and it is rich in minerals 
and vitamins. For babies, it is nature’s perfect food. 
For older children and adults, it forms a most valuable 
part of the diet. 

Milk as a food for infants. —Nature planned moth¬ 
er’s milk for very small babies, and there are many rea¬ 
sons why it is better for them than cow’s milk. In the 
first place, the composition of mother’s milk is different. 
It contains more sugar than cow’s milk, only about one- 
third as much protein, and one-third as much mineral 
substance. The baby can digest mother’s milk much 


198 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

more easily and use its various substances for growth 
more readily. In fact, cow’s milk cannot be modified 
to exactly take the place of mother’s milk, although of 
course it has to be used for children whose mothers 
cannot nurse them. 

Another advantage of mother’s milk is that it is taken 
directly by the baby with no chance for the entrance of 
harmful bacteria. Sometimes disease-producing bac¬ 
teria get into milk; so you can see that a baby brought 
up on mother’s milk has a better chance of keeping well 
than a baby fed with cow’s milk. 

Safe milk. —There are several harmful bacteria 
which may get into milk. If the cow is sick with tu¬ 
berculosis, the tubercle bacillus may be present. If 
people who handle milk have the germs of typhoid fever, 
diphtheria, or certain other diseases about their bodies, 
these bacteria may get into the milk. If milk is to be 
safe, it must come from healthy cows and be handled 
only by clean and healthy people. 

In a large city it is not always possible to know the 
conditions under which milk was produced. In order 
to make the milk supply safe, therefore, a process is 
carried out which kills all the dangerous bacteria and 
most of those which sour the milk. This process is 
called pasteurization. 

Pasteurization involves the heating of the milk to a 
temperature high enough to kill bacteria, but not high 
enough to change its taste noticeably. The name “pas¬ 
teurization” is used because it is practically the same 


THE CARE OF FOOD 


199 



The model dairy barn is clean, light, and airy. 


process as that originated by Louis Pasteur to kill 
the bacteria which caused the spoiling of wines and 
beer. 

In pasteurizing milk on a large scale, it is heated in 
tanks or in bottles. It is kept either at a temperature 
of 140° to 145 0 Fahrenheit for thirty minutes or at a 
temperature of not less than 160 0 Fahrenheit for at 
least twenty seconds. When milk is pasteurized in 
the bottles, it is ready for shipment after it is thoroughly 
chilled. You can see at once that this is the best way of 
pasteurizing milk, because there is no opportunity for 
bacteria to enter it after pasteurization is completed. 
When milk is pasteurized in bulk, however, it is usually 
bottled at once, and if the methods are clean, the process 
may be quite satisfactory. In the city, pasteurization 
of milk is usually required. 



200 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

The use of refrigeration in the care of food.— 

The most important means of preserving food at pres¬ 
ent is by coldness] pr refrigeration. Before the use of 
ice became common, women used cold cellars, deep wells, 
or spring houses as places for storing food. Now 
nearly every home and every modern market or store 
has its ice-box or electric refrigerator. Refrigerators 
which operate automatically, using electricity or gas, 
have an advantage over the ice-box in keeping a lower 
and more even temperature. 

Refrigeration is carried on to an even greater extent 
in the cold storage plant of the present day. 

There is some prejudice against cold storage goods; 
but, as a matter of fact, foods may remain in storage 
for a very long time without spoiling in the least, pro¬ 
vided they are fresh and in good condition when put in, 
and provided they are not taken out until they are about 
to be used. Once foods are taken from the cold storage 
plant, they are likely to spoil very quickly. The reason 
for this is that moisture collects on the cold surface 
of the food and mixes with the natural juices, thus 
making a condition very favorable to the rapid growth 
of bacteria. 

Canning. —Canning is another method of preserving 
food. The process is essentially the same whether it is 
done in cans at the factory or in glass jars at home. 
Discuss in class the various methods of canning. Why 
must food be boiled for a certain length of time to pre¬ 
vent its spoiling? Why is it best to boil it in the jar? 
Why is the cleanliness of the jar important? 


THE CARE OF FOOD 201 

Molds, as well as bacteria, are killed in the canning 
process. If canned goods spoil, it is either because the 
process of sterilization was imperfect, or because the 
jar was not tightly sealed, thereby letting in bacteria or 
spores of mold. 

Drying. —One of the oldest known ways of preserv¬ 
ing food is by drying. Bacteria must have moisture in 
order to grow. When a food substance is thoroughly 
dried, therefore, conditions are no longer favorable for 
them. Fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, and even 
milk are preserved by drying. What is done with 
dried foods before they are ready to be eaten ? What 
dried foods does your mother use, and how does she pre¬ 
pare them ? 

Smoking. —Some foods are preserved by a process 
of smoking. In the smoke there is a substance called 
creosote which kills bacteria. What foods are 
smoked ? How is smoking done ? 

Pickling and salting. —Pickling and salting are 
methods of preserving which have long been used in 
the home and in commerce. What foods are preserved 
in this way ? 

You may have noticed that cucumbers shrink and 
become wrinkled when they are made into salt pickles. 
This is because the salt has such a strong attraction for 
water that the water in the vegetable is actually drawn 
out. For a similar reason, bacteria cannot live in salt 
solutions; they cannot hold the water necessary for life 
against the attraction of the salt. Strong vinegar will 
also preserve foods. 


202 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

Pickling and salting are less desirable ways of pre¬ 
serving because the taste of the food is changed and 
the nutritive value greatly reduced. Pickled or salted 
foods are hard to digest, because the salt or acid which 
has penetrated through the food hinders the work of 
the digestive juices. Some foods, such as cucumbers 
and green tomatoes, are unripe when they are pickled, 
and therefore are doubly hard to digest. 

Sugar preserves. —Sugar is often used in preserving 
fruits. Like salt, it has a strong attraction for water. 
It draws water from the fruit and from the bacteria, 
making it impossible for the latter to hold water enough 
for growth. Jams and sweet preserves keep indef¬ 
initely, even if they are not air-tight and even though 
mold may grow on top. 

A small amount of sugar does not preserve food, but 
rather increases its tendency to spoil. Bacteria flour¬ 
ish on sugar when it is not present in such quantities as 
to deprive them of the moisture necessary for life inside 
the cell. 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Keep part of a bottle of milk at school for a week or so, 
watching the changes which take place in it: (i) the sour 
taste; (2) the separation of the clabber from the whey 
products of the milk; (3) the final stages of spoiling 
marked by the spongy appearance of the clabber, and the 
dried, moldy appearance on top. The milk should not be 
tasted in this final stage; it is bitter and unwholesome. 

2. Use a class questionnaire to find out the following things 
in regard to the use of milk: 


THE CARE OF FOOD 203 

(a) What is the average amount of milk used in your 
family every day ? 

(b) How much milk do you drink every day? 

(c) Where does your milk come from: a milkman, a 
store, a near-by farm, your own cows ? 

(d) Is it pasteurized or raw ? 

(e) In what ways do you protect milk from spoiling 
after it comes into your home ? 

3. Collect an exhibit of foods, showing as many ways as pos¬ 
sible in which foods are “preserved” to keep them from 
spoiling. 

4. Make a list of general rules for the care of food in the home. 


* 


XIX 


CLEANLINESS IN THE HOME 

The word “home” probably brings a distinct image 
before you. In your mind you see the rooms of the 
house where you live. Whether it be a country house 
or a city apartment, it has a certain attractiveness in 
your eyes. That attraction is not merely because of 
the physical comfort you find there, but because of the 
family ties which bind together the people who make 
up a home. This is the “spirit” of home which poets 
write about, which artists try to portray in painting, 
and which musicians tell about in song. Those of us 
who know happy homes do not need to learn from poet, 
artist, or musician. The joy of home is written in our 
hearts. 

Because home is so closely a part of life itself, it is 
vastly important that the home be wisely managed. 
Because habits in the home are so closely related to the 
health of the family, the regulation of the home in 
matters of cleanliness is equally important. “Keeping 
house” loses some of its drudgery when one remem¬ 
bers how the health and happiness of the family de¬ 
pend upon the well-kept home. Even the much-despised 
task of “doing dishes” takes on a new interest when 
one understands how clean dishes protect the health of 


204 


CLEANLINESS IN THE HOME 205 

those who use them. Preparing a meal becomes a 
scientific adventure in serving foods which are clean, 
nutritious, and attractive. Who could wish to miss 
a share in the happy responsibility of running a home! 

Indeed, no one should miss a share. A mother, a 
father, or a housekeeper alone cannot keep a house 
clean and wholesome. Nothing short of the coopera¬ 
tion of every one living in the home can do that. What 
use is it for father to have the house well screened if 
you leave the screen doors open? What good does it 
do for mother to have the bathroom fixtures scrubbed 
if you are careless? What use is there for absolute 
cleanliness in the kitchen if you handle food with dirty 
hands or cough and sneeze upon it? No matter, then, 
whether you are in charge of the home or not, you have 
a very definite responsibility toward its cleanliness, 
from the standpoint both of your personal habits and of 
your share in its work. 

From the standpoint of health, the home must ob¬ 
serve three general principles in order to be successful. 
First, it must possess a spirit of harmony which makes 
for cheerfulness and happiness in the family. Second, 
it must provide the daily comforts and necessities of life. 
Third, it must be cared for with proper cleanliness to 
protect the family from disease. This chapter deals 
only with the third principle—the requirements for a 
clean home. 

Keeping dishes clean. —You already know that the 
care of food is one of the most important considera- 


206 cleanliness and health 

tions in a clean home. The cleanliness of dishes is 
equally important. Indeed, it is impossible to serve a 
family with food which is clean and safe unless the 
dishes are properly cared for. It is easy to under¬ 
stand that bacteria or other microorganisms can live 
on dishes which are merely rinsed off in lukewarm, 
greasy dishwater and wiped on soiled towels. Colds, 
or even more serious kinds of illness, are undoubtedly 
spread in a family by means of poorly washed dishes 
and table silver. 

Clean dishes are more attractive, too. A meal served 
with shining dishes and polished silverware is much 
more appetizing than one served with greasy dishes 
and blackened or tarnished silver. 

The only way to have clean dishes is to wash them 
thoroughly. Scrape them first, or rinse them under the 
faucet, so as to avoid dirt and grease in the dishpan. 
Use hot, soapy dishwater so that your washing process 
will remove all bits of greasy food and all deposits from 
the mouth which stick to the silverware, cups, and 
glasses. 

You need to be especially careful in washing the ar¬ 
ticles which come directly in contact with the mouth. 
Glasses should never be merely rinsed because they 
look clean. The rim of the glass should be washed 
thoroughly. Wash your teacups and silver, too, with 
greatest care. Scald the dishes with hot water if you 
can. This makes them cleaner, helps you to dry them 
more easily, and gives them a better polish. If you 


CLEANLINESS IN THE HOME 


207 



have many dishes to wash, change your dishwater be¬ 
fore it becomes greasy and dirty. 

Here is the usual order of washing dishes: (1) 
glasses; (2) silver; (3) cups and saucers; (4) other 
table dishes; (5) cooking dishes. Keep your pots 
and pans as clean as your dishes. They need hot, 
soapy water for washing and clear, hot water for 
rinsing. Even if the bottom of a kettle is black from 
kerosene or wood smoke, the inside should be perfectly 
clean. 

When there is illness from contagious disease, try 
to keep the patient’s dishes separate. They can be 
placed on a tray used only for the patient, and washed 



























208 cleanliness and HEALTH 

by themselves, instead of with the other dishes. A 
separate dishcloth and towel should be kept for washing 
and drying them. 

Clean dishcloths and towels add greatly to the fun 
of “doing dishes.” They add greatly to the cleanliness 
of the dishes, too. Wash your dishtowels frequently 
and dry them outdoors. If your towels are well 
cared for, they will look clean and smell sweet with the 
freshness of outdoor air and sunshine. Towels should 
be washed after each meal, if possible, but washing once 
a day may be quite satisfactory, if several towels are 
used and dried thoroughly. Why would you be un¬ 
willing to dry dishes with towels which are washed only 
occasionally and dried imperfectly ? 

Probably you have found from experience that dish¬ 
cloths and dishmops become grimy very quickly unless 
they are washed well every time they are used. Where 
do you hang them to dry ? What do you think of keep¬ 
ing dishmops in a closet under the sink? What sort of 
care do you give to the dishpan ? 

Dishes may be dried without towels by the method of 
rinsing and draining. This is not only a very clean way 
of drying dishes; it is a time-saving device, too. The 
dishes are set up in a rack so that they can be thoroughly 
rinsed with scalding water. Then they are allowed to 
remain in the rack until dry. Glasses usually cannot 
be dried in this way, because they will look streaked. 
Silver also must be wiped. Other dishes need to be 
very well rinsed so that all traces of soap are removed. 


CLEANLINESS IN THE HOME 


209 



The care of the refrigerator. —What an attractive 
place the refrigerator seems when you go to it on a warm 
summer day in search of a cool drink or a bit of re¬ 
freshing food! It is certainly pleasant to have the 
refrigerator kept fresh and neat. 

Indeed, a refrigerator cannot do its work well unless 
it is kept very cold and clean. The dark, moist interior 
of a warm ice-box will favor the growth of molds and 
bacteria rather than discourage it. If you want to 
have your ice-box really cold, you must see that it is shut 
up tightly and supplied with a good-sized piece of ice. 






























210 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


Ice which is wrapped in cloth or newspaper will not 
chill the box to a desired temperature. No doubt you 
have found that it is poor economy to let the ice supply 
get too low, because more ice is used to reduce the tem¬ 
perature again, and in the meantime your food may spoil. 
A good automatic refrigerator will maintain a low tem¬ 
perature. 

You need to consider the question of odors in the 
refrigerator because it is shut up so tightly that strong 
odors like those of cheese and fish may be absorbed by 
foods like milk, cream, and butter. Avoid keeping 
“strong” foods in the refrigerator if possible. Protect 
your milk and butter from taking undesirable odors by 
keeping these foods covered. 

Cleanliness in the kitchen. —The scientific house¬ 
keeper prides herself that her kitchen is the cleanest 
room in the house. It is flooded with sunlight, the 
friend of health and cleanliness. Its windows and 
doors are well screened in summer so that the kitchen 
may be airy and cool without the entrance of flies. It 
is kept as free from dust as possible. The floor is 
mopped or washed rather than swept. Indeed, it is an 
attractive room, well suited in every way to the needs 
of its mistress. 

A kitchen which is pleasing in other ways may be 
spoiled by a dirty sink. The sink must be kept free 
from water-bugs, or cockroaches, which breed in dark, 
damp, dirty places, and bring on their bodies whatever 
kinds of bacteria they chance to pick up. You can 


CLEANLINESS IN THE HOME 211 

fight these pests by three methods: (i) use a good roach 
powder; (2) get rid of the damp, dirty places in which 
they may breed; (3) keep all food (including crumbs 
and garbage) out of their reach. 

Sometimes there is trouble with odor from the sink 
drain, even when the sink itself is kept very clean. This 
odor is not dangerous, as people sometimes think, but 
it is undesirable, of course, and indicates an unclean 
condition somewhere in the drain pipe. In any type 
of sink drain there is a “trap” which holds a small 
amount of water to prevent the sewer gas from coming 
up into the room. If dirty, greasy water is allowed to 
remain in the trap constantly, you are likely to get odor 
from it. You can avoid such a condition by flushing 
the pipe with hot, soapy water every day so that you 
clean the trap thoroughly and leave it filled with clean 
water instead of dirty water. 

The care of garbage is another important problem in 
kitchen work. Make a practice of removing the waste 
food from the kitchen after each meal. A dish of 
waste in the sink is unsightly; it attracts flies and water- 
bugs, and in warm weather it may give off disagreeable 
odors. Keep your container for garbage outdoors 
if you can. In winter it may seem necessary to keep 
it in a back room or shed. In any case, it should be kept 
covered and emptied often. 

Do you wash out your garbage container after the 
garbage is emptied ? You ought to clean it thoroughly 
because the waste which accumulates on the sides of the 


212 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

can will develop a sour smell, which is disagreeable and 
which attracts flies. Flies will breed in garbage if they 
have a chance. Be sure that your containers are tightly 
covered. 

If you live in the city, your garbage is collected at 
regular intervals; but if you live in the country, you 
have to dispose of your own kitchen waste. Parts of 
garbage may be fed to hens or pigs. Other satisfac¬ 
tory ways of disposal are by burning or burying. The 
important thing is to get rid of the waste without breed¬ 
ing flies or attracting rats and mice. 

Care of the bathroom.—The average person is very 
critical of the bathroom in another person’s house. 
Look carefully at your own bathroom, “making be¬ 
lieve” that it belongs to some one else. Does its clean¬ 
liness please you? 

Each member of the family should have his own 
towels, washcloths, and soap, and a place for keeping 
them. Since you understand how easily bacteria can 
be carried about, you can see why people, even within 
the same family, should be fastidious in regard to using 
personal belongings. You have a right to resent the 
use of your towel or bathbrush by another person. 
You also have the obligation to treat the other person’s 
belongings with the same sort of respect which you ask 
for your own. 

Many people use paper towels; they are cheap, clean, 
and very convenient. Paper towels are good in the 
kitchen, too. 


CLEANLINESS IN THE HOME 21 3 

The washbowl should be kept c-lean. Brush your 
teeth over a bowl which is not used for washing pur¬ 
poses if you can conveniently do so. If you have to use 
the washbowl, be careful to rinse it thoroughly after¬ 
ward with hot water. 

Washing and ironing.—What a pleasure it is to 
have clean clothes! Clothing which is washed well 
and dried outdoors is indeed “really clean.” 

The clothes are scrubbed in hot, soapy water either 
by a mechanical “washer” or by hand. They may also 
be boiled over the fire, although this is not absolutely 
necessary. They are well rinsed once or twice in plenty 
of clean water. Then they are hung on the line where 
Mother Nature lavishes upon them the purifying touch 
of her servants, the air and the sun. 

If you iron clothes, you add still another step to the 
disinfecting process. Ironing is usually done for the 
sake of appearance, however, rather than for the sake 
of cleanliness. 

Clothes “half washed” in lukewarm water, carelessly 
rinsed in only a small amount of water, and dried in a 
dingy back room will not look clean or smell clean. 
Indeed, they are not clean, for although certain spots of 
dirt may be removed, the most dangerous part of the 
dirt may still remain. You can judge that colds and 
other kinds of illness may often spread through the fam¬ 
ily when washing is done in such a careless fashion. 

Care of bedrooms.—Think what a large part of 
your life is spent in bed! Surely it is important that 


214 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

beds and bedrooms should receive proper care every day. 

One of the chief requirements for a bedroom is fresh 
air. Some people keep their bedroom windows open all 
the time, day and night. You may not like to do that 
in cold weather, and it is not really necessary that you 
should. You should make a practice, however, of hav¬ 
ing the windows open for a part of every day so as to 
air the bedding thoroughly, and of course you want 
them open at night. When the weather is so stormy 
or cold that you cannot have windows wide open while 
you sleep, you can have them partly open at top and bot¬ 
tom so as to give a good circulation of air. The cool, 
moving air with its slight variations in temperature and 
moisture acts like a tonic on the skin and brings re¬ 
freshing sleep. 

The bedding should be pulled back and aired every 
day in your room, and occasionally put outdoors for 
a thorough airing in the sun. Mattresses and pillows 
need to be protected from direct contact with the body 
because they cannot be cleaned so easily as the rest of 
the bedding. Blankets, quilts, and puffs should be pro¬ 
tected, too, by sheets and spreads. Which do you 
think better for general use—blankets or quilts ? 

The care of the cellar.—A cellar which is damp, 
dark, and unventilated offers a first-class place for the 
breeding of molds and bacteria. If the wall or floor 
is broken, there is a chance for drainage from the soil 
to leak in, or even opportunity for rats and mice to 
enter the house. 


CLEANLINESS IN THE HOME 


215 



Often the cellar is used as a storage place for food or 
household goods. A good cellar is light, reasonably 
dry, well ventilated, and tight in construction. Keep 
it clean, and paint or whitewash the walls occasionally. 

Cleaning and dusting.—Every girl knows how 
much a room is improved by cleaning and dusting. 
Most of you know, too, that there are many different 
ways of doing this work, and that some methods “raise 
the dust” more than others. What are the best ways 






























2l6 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


of cleaning rugs and carpets ? What cleaning methods 
do you prefer for waxed or polished floors? How 
would you care for floors in the pantry and kitchen ? 
If you sweep, how can you prevent the scattering of 
dust from the floor ? What kinds of dusters are best ? 
What kinds of dusters should never be used? 

What a big and important job it is—keeping a home! 
Those of us who spend most of the day in school, at the 
office, or in the factory must not forget that the one 
who keeps the home is doing a work equally important, 
and in most cases equally difficult. Let us appreciate 
her task. Let us cooperate with her to maintain a 
home which shall be a center of health and happiness for 
the family. 

Things You May Like to Do 

1. Make a set of brief rules for each of the following: 

(a) Washing dishes. 

(b) Caring for the refrigerator. 

(c) Keeping the kitchen clean. 

(d) Taking care of the bathroom. 

(e) Washing and ironing. 

(f) Caring for bedrooms. 

(g) Keeping the cellar clean. 

(h) Cleaning and dusting. 

2. By posters or scrapbook work illustrate as many rules as 
you can for the care of the home. 

3. If you have responsibilities for certain parts of the house¬ 
work at home, check yourself to see if you are doing the 
best you can. Watch yourself in at least one particular 
and see if you can improve until the better practice be¬ 
comes a habit. 


CLEANLINESS IN THE HOME 


217 

4. Make up a questionnaire in class which will include ques¬ 
tions related to your cooperation in the home. Answer 
the questions honestly, and see how many points you can 
score. Check over the questionnaires from the class and 
see what practices are most poorly followed. Here are a 
few questions which might be asked: 

(a) When you help to “do the dishes,” do you wash 
your hands first ? 

(b) Is your part of dishwashing done according to the 
rules of cleanliness you have learned in your health 
class ? 

(c) Are you careful never to use dish towels for any¬ 
thing except dishes ? 

(d) Do you make a practice of always closing the door 
of the refrigerator? 

(e) Are you careful never to spill things in the refrig¬ 
erator ? 

(f) If you help to care for the garbage, do you follow 
the rules which have been made in class ? 

5. Discuss the use of individual drinking cups at home and in 
public places. 

6. Have a committee from the class investigate the condition 
of washrooms and toilets in the school. Remember your 
own responsibility in helping to keep these places clean. 


APPENDIX 


This appendix suggests some class procedures which 
have been found useful in school health work. 

Weighing and Measuring 

All weighing and measuring should be done care¬ 
fully and accurately. Weighing should be done once 
a month, if possible, always at about the same time of 
day. Height should be taken two or three times during 
the year: at the beginning, in January or February, and 
again in June. It is desirable to weigh and measure 
without shoes. All extra clothing, such as sweaters 
and coats, should be removed. 

Weighing. Before weighing, the scales should be 
tested for balance by pushing the balance weights back 
to zero. When the scales are found to vary somewhat 
from an accurate balance, they should be adjusted by 
the Sealer of Weights and Measures or by the teacher. 
If the scales are moved from one room to another, care 
should be taken to keep the platform relatively hori¬ 
zontal, so that the adjustment of the mechanism under 
the platform is not disturbed. The child being weighed 
should stand quietly in the middle of the platform with 
hands at the sides. 


218 


APPENDIX 


219 

Measuring. Two instruments are necessary for 
measuring—an accurate scale against which the child 
will stand to be measured, and a leveling device which 
can be placed on the child’s head to secure a right angle 
measurement against the scale. 

One of the best measuring scales is made of inexten- 
sible and unshrinkable paper, which may be tacked or 
pasted to a wall or specially prepared board. You may 
use yardsticks fastened one above another on a smooth 
wall, or a tape measure tacked to the wall. Be careful 
to have them accurately placed. Such a scale should be 
checked by a standard steel tape. 

The leveling device may be made of two pieces of 
seasoned walnut board about seven by five inches. On 
the inside of the median line is a narrow strip with an 
opening which serves as a handle. If such a measuring 
device cannot be secured conveniently, a box with a 
square edge may be used. (A chalk box serves the 
purpose very well.) The flat surface of a book or 
board cannot be used accurately, because one cannot be 
sure that it will always make a right angle with the 
scale on the wall. 

The child being measured should stand as tall as pos¬ 
sible with heels together and with his back and head 
against the wall where the scale is placed. The arms 
are at the side, and the eyes are straight ahead. 

Records. It is well to keep two sets of records— 
one on a Classroom Weight Record sheet, and another 
on individual weight cards. A regular form of “Class- 


220 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


CLASSROOM HEIGHT AND WEIGHT RECORD 



room Weight Record” can be secured from the Bureau 
of Education, Department of the Interior, Washing¬ 
ton, D. C. The classroom record should be kept hang¬ 
ing in the classroom where children can refer to it at 
any time. Individual cards, or tags, can be carried 
home each month to be signed by the parent. The rec¬ 
ord should give height, weight, and monthly gains. 

It is desirable that the pupils in the class should have 
as large a share as possible in the weighing and meas¬ 
uring activities. Certain ones can learn to do the 
weighing, others to do the measuring. Each child 
may have a part in keeping his records; he can record 
the figures on his own card or on the Classroom 
Weight Record at the time he is weighed. 


























































APPENDIX 


221 


MALDEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

Name School 

Date of Birth Grade 

19_ 


Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Dec. 

Jan. 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Apr. 

May 

June 


Age 













Height 













Weight 













Month’s 

Gain 















Directions for Making a Weight Graph 

Use paper which is already “squared” for graphs, 
or rule a sheet of drawing paper for the purpose. The 
horizontal lines will represent “pounds of weight.” 
The vertical lines will represent the “months” or the 
times at which the weighings are made. 

Each horizontal line should be marked with a figure 
to show the number of pounds, but the numbers will be 
different for each of you because your weights are 
different. The vertical lines should be marked with 
the names of the months, and on these lines dots are 
placed to indicate weight at weighing periods. The 
solid black line drawn between these dots makes a weight 
line, which falls when you are losing weight and rises 
when you are gaining weight. 





















222 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

You can draw a light pencil line to represent your “ex¬ 
pected” gain if you wish. Find out the average 
monthly gain for a child of your age, and draw from 
the first dot, which represents your actual weight, a 
line which will show the amount of “expected” gain 
per month. 

You will understand that the table shows the average 
gain for a group of boys or girls. It does not mean 
that every boy and girl should gain the stated amount 
each month. Some will gain more, and some will gain 
less. Children differ in size, and it is not expected 
that every one will grow at the same rate. You may 
not gain every single month, but you will usually 
make some gain. You will be more likely to gain 
if your health habits are good than if they are 
poor. If a child does not gain in weight for three 
months or more, it is well to try to find out the reason 
for it. 


Tables Showing Average Monthly Gains * 


I. About what a GIRL should gain 


Age Gain 

From 5 yr. to 8 yr. 6 oz. 

8 yr. to ii yr. 8 oz. 

ii yr. to 14 yr. 12 oz. 

14 yr. to 16 yr. 8 oz. 

16 yr. to 18 yr. 4 oz. 


II. About what a BOY should gain 


Age Gain 

From 5 yr. to 8 yr. 6 oz. 

8 yr. to 12 yr. 8 oz. 

12 yr. to 16 yr. 16 oz. 

16 yr. to 18 yr. 8 oz. 


* From tables prepared by Bird T. Baldwin, Ph.D., and Thomas D. 
Wood, M.D. Reproduced by permission of the American Child HeaVh 
Association. 











APPENDIX 


223 

Questionnaires 

A very good way for a class to find out how much 
they are “investing” in health habits is for them to 
check themselves up by means of a questionnaire. The 
following questions suggest some*that may be included: 

1. What time did you go to bed last night? 

2. What time did you get up this morning? 

3. How many hours of sleep did you have? 

4. What did you eat for breakfast this morning? 

5. What vegetables did you eat yesterday? 

6. What fruit, either raw or cooked, did you eat yesterday? 

7. What cereal did you eat yesterday ? 

8. How many glasses of milk did you drink yesterday ? 

9. How much water did you drink yesterday ? 

10. How many cups of tea did you drink yesterday ? 

11. Did you eat candy between meals yesterday? 

12. How long did you play outdoors yesterday? 

13. How many times did you brush your teeth yesterday ? 

14. Have you had a full, warm bath during the last week ? 

15. Did you have a bowel movement yesterday? 

16. What health habits have you improved the past year ? 

Boys and girls may prefer to make a questionnaire 
of their own. They may change some of these ques¬ 
tions or add others to the list. Each pupil should 
answer the questionnaire frankly, telling exactly what 
he did, not what he knows he should have done; and 
then the answers should be scored. It is not necessary 
that each one should write out the questions on paper. 
They can be written on the blackboard, arranged in or¬ 
der with each question numbered. Then the answers 
may be numbered in the same way on paper. 


224 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

The answers to the questionnaire should relate to 
what each child did yesterday and this morning; they 
should not be made on the basis of what a child usually 
does. The real purpose of the questionnaire is to de¬ 
termine the health habits of the class on one particular 
day. 

After each pupil has checked his own answers, score 
each question for the class as a whole. What habits 
are most carefully practiced ? What habits most need 
improvement ? What can be done about it ? 

Inspections 

(The method here described is one carried on by health club organiza¬ 
tions. The same sort of inspection can be used, however, even if the class 
does not choose to have a regular health club.) 

In making daily inspections, certain inspection ques¬ 
tions should be decided upon either by the class as a 
whole or by an elected committee. The following are 
examples of questions used: 

1. How many have clean faces, clean necks, and clean ears ? 

2. How many have clean hands and finger nails ? 

3 How many have finger nails not bitten ? 

4. How many have clean teeth ? 

5. How many are wearing neither coats, sweaters, nor rub¬ 
bers, and have neat clothing ? 

6. How many are carrying clean handkerchiefs? 

The procedure of inspection may be somewhat as fol¬ 
lows : The secretary, with the teacher’s help, has ruled 


APPENDIX 


225 



off a place at the board where scores for each team (each 
row) may be recorded. At the time of inspection the 
secretary will take his place at the board to make the 
records. When the president asks the first inspection 






















226 CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

question, each captain goes to his assigned row and 
makes inspection. He then offers himself to the presi¬ 
dent for personal inspection and tells the captain who 
is inspecting his own team whether he passed. 

After that he returns to the back of his assigned 
row to give his report. As the president calls for the 
reports by rows, the captain calls the number of the 
team and gives score of one if each pupil in the row 
has passed; if some one failed to pass, he reports zero. 
(For example, he may say, “Team 2, score i.”) 

Other records may be kept from time to time in a 
way similar to the inspection records. These may be 
made of questions to be answered by each child “upon 
his honor.” Such questions as these might be used: 

1. How many cleaned their teeth before going to bed last 
night and before coming to school this morning? 

2. How many drank at least two glasses of milk yesterday ? 

3. How many ate some vegetable besides potato yesterday ? 

4. How many ate some fruit yesterday ? 

5. How many slept ten hours or more last night with open 
windows ? 

Recording Health Habits 

Each habit record should be kept for at least a two- 
week period. This sort of record-keeping gives a 
chance for the class discussion of particular habits, and 
it serves as a campaign in favor of one habit after an¬ 
other to fix each one more firmly. 

It is possible to secure a little health-habit booklet 


APPENDIX 


227 




k 

I played out of doors to-day 
























228 


CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 


in which such records may be kept. (“Health Habit 
Record,” D. C. Heath and Company.) A page from 
such a record book is printed on page 227. It is not 
necessary to have a special record book like this, how¬ 
ever. Children can prepare their own record sheets by 
ruling up paper in a similar way. 

The advantage of keeping records does not lie in 
having a perfect record, of course. It is merely a way 
of reminding one’s self to keep the habits until they 
are firmly established. The test of health habits comes 
on weighing day. They show in health improvement. 


Health Clubs 

The Health Club offers one way of organizing a 
class for health improvement. It should include every 
one in the class; and it should be conducted in accord¬ 
ance with Parliamentary Law. 

At the first meeting, the teacher may act as tempo¬ 
rary chairman. She calls the meeting to order. Under 
her leadership, the club elects a president, vice-presi¬ 
dent, and secretary. Most health clubs do not have a 
treasurer, but if your club should wish to assess dues 
or raise money for any purpose, it will be necessary to 
have one. The officers should be changed from time 
to time. 

It is usually convenient to divide the class into small 
groups, or teams, for working at inspections and health 
records. The classroom has the natural division of 


APPENDIX 


229 



rows, and each row may well constitute a team. Each 
team should select a captain. 

The duties of officers are as follows: 

The president shall call all meetings to order and 
take charge of them. He shall ask the secretary for 
minutes of the previous meeting and for announce¬ 
ments or reports. He shall ask the club for business, 
and shall regulate the discussion. He shall conduct all 


















23O CLEANLINESS AND HEALTH 

activities of the club, such as inspections and the use 
of health-habit questionnaires. 

The vice-president shall have charge, of meetings at 
such times as the president is not able to do so. 

The secretary shall keep and read the minutes of 
club meetings. He shall be responsible for all records 
of team work or other activities of the club. He shall 
make all announcements and reports. 

The treasurer shall have charge of all funds of the 
club and render account. 

The captains shall act as leaders of their own teams, 
encouraging them to do their best, and setting them a 
good example at all times. In campaigns upon par¬ 
ticular habits the captains will take all records for their 
teams and report them to the secretary. In making in¬ 
spections the captain will not inspect his own team usu¬ 
ally. He will be assigned by the president to inspect 
some other team. 

It is desirable that a health club should hold a meet¬ 
ing once a week. The method of procedure may be 
somewhat as follows: The president calls the meeting 
to order. He asks the secretary to read the minutes 
of the last meeting, and gives opportunity for any one 
to make corrections or additions before declaring them 
approved. He may ask the secretary for additional 
reports or announcements. 

If inspections for that day are included in your club 
program, instead of at the opening of school, he may 
then ask for inspection, which will be made according 
to some standards decided upon by the club. After in- 


APPENDIX 


231 

spection, the president may call for a discussion of 
business. This may include appointment of commit¬ 
tees for special work, reports of special committees, 
and suggestions for new work. This preliminary part 
of the meeting, conducted in a brisk, businesslike man¬ 
ner, should use only ten or fifteen minutes, except when 
some unusually important business is brought up for 
discussion. The club may use some of the health or hy¬ 
giene periods for its meetings. 

The rest of the club period may then be used for 
some work in regard to health habits. Material for 
this work is given in Chapter III of the text. Once a 
month, at least, the health club time should be used for 
discussing the results of weighing. 

The teams may serve as committees, with the captains 
acting as chairmen. For example, the teams may take 
turns in preparing programs; these may deal with some 
particular health habit, a survey of the class or school, 
a consideration of the results of weighing and measur¬ 
ing, or any other appropriate topic. 

There are many other things which a health club 
can do to good advantage, such as making posters or 
scrapbooks, keeping weight graphs, planning exhibits, 
developing plays, keeping honor rolls for teeth. 

The test of the health club is its influence upon the 
members of the class in producing better health habits 
and improved health. The interesting devices used 
in your club work count as nothing unless the boys and 
girls show in their appearance and growth records the 
results of healthful living. 



INDEX 


Absorption, 108 
Aedes mosquito, 185 
Agar, 70 

Air, fresh, 36, 214 
Air sacs, 137 

Alcohol, 10, 30, 32, 65, 74, 112, 149, 
169, 170, 171, 172, 173 , 174 , 175 , 
176, 181 

Animal friends and enemies, 182 

Anopheles mosquito, 184 

Anthrax, 78, 162 

Antitoxin, 164 

Ants, 183 

Appendix, 218 

Arteries, 95 

Bacilli, 65 

Bacteria, 51, 63, 113 
Bacterial culture, 70 
Bathing, 125, 131 
Bathroom, care of, 212 
Bedbugs, 189 
Bedrooms, care of, 213 
Between-meal foods, hi 
B ile, 107 
Blister, 120 
Blood, 96 
Body odors, 125 
Body structure, 89 
Bowel movement, 119 
Breakfast, 109 
Breathing structures, 134 
Bronchi, 136 

Calcium, 18, 81 
Canning, 200 
Capillaries, 96 
Carbohydrates, 16, 104 
Carbon dioxide, 134 
Cellar, care of, 215 
Cells, 92 

Cheerfulness, 11 5 
Chewing, 104 


Chloral, 176 
Cholera, 117 
Cilia, 136 
Circulation, 100 
Circulatory system, 101 
Classroom weight record, 220 
Clean food, 118, 143 
Cleanliness, 47, 120 
Clothing, 141 
care of, 125 
wet, 139 
Cocaine, 176 
Cocci, 65 
Cockroaches, 210 
Cod liver oil, 17, 37 
Coffee, 30, 32 
Cold baths, 131, 141 
Colon, 108 
Common cold, 134 
Complexion, 114, 130 
Constipation, 114 
Corrective exercise, 20 
Cowpox, 157 
Culture media, 70 

Dengue, 185 
Dermis, 122 
Digestion, 103 

Digestive tract, cleanliness of, 113, 
ii7 

Diphtheria, control of, 163 
Dirt, 47 

Dish washing, 206 
Drugs, 32, 176, 177 
Drying of foods, 201 
Dust, 52 
Dusting, 215 
Dysentery, 117 

Ears, 41 

Eating, habits of, 109 
Elimination, 108 
Epidermis, 120 


233 


INDEX 


234 

Epiglottis, 137 
Eustachian tube, 138 
Exercise, 33, in 
corrective, 20 
Eyes, 38 

Fat cells, 124 
Fats, 17, 104 
Feet, care of, 25 
Fermentation, 72 
Filariasis, 122 
Finger nails, 129 
Fisher, Irving, 178 
Flies, 187, 192, 194 
Food, 16, 192 
handlers, 194 
preservation of, 200 
rules for care of, 192 
Fresh air, 36, 214 
Fried foods, in 
Fruits, 118 
Fungi, 55 

Garbage, 211 

Garcia, the Message to, 1 

Gastric juice, 106, 113 

Gelatin, 70 

Germ, 69 

Gorgas, 187 

Growth, 8 

Hair, 122 
care of, 127 
Handkerchief, 143, 145 
Hands, care of, 129 
Hand washing, 118 
Harmful substances, 169 
Harrison Narcotic Law, 177 
Health clubs, 228 
Health examination, 151 
Health-habit questionnaires, 222 
Health-habit records, 226 
Health, importance of, 3 
Heart, 95 
Heroin, 176 
Home, care of, 204 
Hookworm, 190 
House cleaning, 215 
House fly, 187 
Humus, 47 


Ice-box, 209 
Immunization, 154 
Injuries to skin, 132 
Inspections, 224 
Intestinal juice, 107 
Iron, 18 
Ironing, 213 

Jenner, Edward, 155 

Kidneys, 97 
Kitchen, 210 

Large intestine, 108 
Larynx, 136 
Laxatives, 119 
Lice, 189 
Liver, 107 
Lungs, 96, 134, 137 
Lymph vessels, 96 

Maggots, 189 
Malaria, 184 
Measuring, 218 
Media, 70 
Mental hygiene, 29 
Metchnikoff, 113 
Microbe, 69 
Microorganism, 69 
Microscope, 64 
Mildew, 61 
Milk, care of, 194 
pasteurization of, 198 
spoiling of, 197 
Mind, 29 
Minerals, 18 
Mite, 183 
Molds, 51, 55 
Morphine, 176 
Mosquito control, 185 
Mosquitoes, 184 
Mother’s milk, 197 
Muscular system, 99 
Mushrooms, 49, 55 

Narcotics, 170, 176, 177, 181 
Nasal breathing, 142 
Nasal passages, 135 
National Physical Achievement 
Standards, 12 

Nervous indigestion, 31, no 


INDEX 


235 


Salting, 201 
Scalp, care of, 127 
Scarlet fever, 167 
Schick test, 166 
Shampoo, 128 
Shoes, 25 
Skeleton, 98 
Skin, 120 

Silkworm, diseases of, 76 
Simmons, Edward, 3 
Sleep, 27 

Small intestine, 107 
Smallpox, 156 
inoculation, 156 
Smoking, 177 
Smoking of foods, 201 
Sour-milk bacillus, 113 
Spinal cord, 99 
Spirilla, 65 
Spores, 51 
Spores of mold, 56 
Starches, 16 

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 6 
Stomach, 105 
Sugar, 16 

Sugar preserves, 202 
Sunlight, 37, 59 , 66, 151, 213, 214 
Sweat glands, 122 
Sweets, hi 
Symbiosis, 184 


Nervous system, 29, 100 
Nicotine, 177 
Nitrogenous waste, 97 
Nose, 135 

Oil glands, 122 
Opium, 176 
Oxygen, 134 

Pancreatic juice, 107 
Parasite, 183 
Pasteur, 72, 162 
and preventive medicine, 162 
Pasteurization, 75, 198 
Patent medicine, 177 
Perspiration, 97, 122, 126 
Pharynx, 136 
Phosphorus, 18, 81 
Physic, 119 
Physical defects, 12 
Pickling, 201 
Pigment, 120 
Plant lice, 183 
Poison ivy, 45 
Pores, 122 
Porkworm, 191 
Posture, 20 

Preventive medicine, 163 
Proteins, 16, 104 
Protoplasm, 94 
Pulse, 96 

Pure Food and Drug Act, 177 
Pylorus, 106 

Questionnaires, 222 
Quinine, 185 

Rabies, 162 

Red blood corpuscles, 96 
Reed, Walter, 186 
Refrigeration, 200 
Refrigerator, 209 
Regularity of meals, 109 
Regulator foods, 18, 114 
Rest, 27 
Rickets, 37 
Rubbers, 126, 142 
“Rules of the Game,” 7 

Safety, 43 
Saliva, 104 


Tapeworm, 191 
Tea, 30, 32 
Teeth, 79 
Throat, 136 
Tissues, 94 

Tobacco, 10, 30, 32, 112, 177, 178, 
179, 180, 181 
Toothbrush, 85 
Tooth decay, 81 
Touch, 123 
Toxin-antitoxin, 166 
Toxoid, 166 
Trachea, 136 
Trichina, 191 
Trudeau, Edward, 148 
Tubercle bacillus, 146 
Tuberculosis, 146 
bovine, 150 
sanitarium, 152 


INDEX 


236 

Typhoid fever, 115 

vaccination against, 163 

Vaccination, 154 
Vegetables, 118 
Veins, 95 
Ventilation, 141 
Villi, 108 
Vitamins, 17, 81 
Vocal cords, 136 

Washing, 213 
Waste products, 96, 109 
Water, 18, 94, 115 
between meals, 118 


importance of, 97 
pollution, 117 
supply, 117 
Waterbugs, 211 
Weighing, 218 
Weight, 8 
card, 221 
graph, 221 

monthly gains in, 222 
White blood corpuscles, 96 
Workshops of the body, 103 
Wounds, care of, 132 

Yeast, 74 
Yellow fever, 185 




1 










